SoftBank to invest up to $100 bn in India’s solar power sector
15 Jun 2018
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SoftBank Group Corp has decided to invest $60 billion-$100 billion in solar power generation in India as the company bets big on the market for clean energy in India, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday.
The Japanese technology major plans to team up with Indian government and a final announcement is expected after final arrangements are made, the report quoting SoftBank sources said.
Softbank is expected to make the investment through a fund backed by Saudi Arabia’s government, which is also the largest investor in Softbank. Saudi investment fund was the largest investor in SoftBank's Vision Fund, which raised over $93 billion last year.
SoftBank, in April, also teamed up with China's GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd for a $930 million solar energy venture in India.
In 2015, SoftBank had teamed up with India’s Bharti Enterprises and Taiwans Foxcon to invest $20 billion in Indian solar projects to generate 20 GW of energy. Softbank was the majority partner in the joint venture (See: SoftBank, Foxconn, Bharti in pact for $20-bn solar power investment).
India has set a target to achieve solar power capacity of 100 GW by 2022, five times current levels, under its renewable energy programme.
SoftBank's Vision Fund has exposure to solar energy through its investment in the world's largest such project in Saudi Arabia announced in March.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son wants to invest in the companies that will build the future. Earlier this year he banded together with Saudi Arabia on a $200 billion solar power project.
SoftBank could also invest in the battery sector. But that may take a while as companies have been struggling to improve on the lithium-based technology that has been the norm for years.
