<div>Telecom giant SoftBank has pledged an investment of $10 billion (over Rs 60,000 crore) in India's IT and communications space, one of the biggest investment commitments from a Japanese firm after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to that country.<br /><br />Softbank -- one of the major telecom and internet corporations of Japan -- will look for opportunities in telecom and the fast-growing e-commerce sectors in India.<br /><br />The proposed investment was committed by Softbank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son in a meeting with Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, an official statement said today.<br /><br />"Mr Son today assured the Minister that SoftBank would like to invest approximately $10 billion in India in the coming years. He placed it on record that India is the top most priority for SoftBank," the Telecom Ministry statement said.<br /><br />Son told Prasad that the visit of Prime Minister to Japan has created a climate of hope and optimism about greater economic cooperation between the two countries, it added.<br /><br />With a market cap of USD 92 billion, SoftBank has operations in broadband, fixed line telecom, e-Commerce, finance, media and marketing. SoftBank already has made investments in Indian companies including InMobi and Hike.<br /><br />"He (Son) further expressed immense faith in the great eCommerce potential of India. He estimated it to become a USD 0.5 trillion business in the next 10 years," the statement said.<br /><br />Sources said that SoftBank has plans to invest in ecommerce firm Snapdeal. However, Softbank and Snapdeal did not immediately respond to queries on the matter.<br /><br />SoftBank Chairman also asked Prasad to develop a robust mobile phone infrastructure and resolve spectrum issues. <br /><br />(PTI) </div>
