SoftBank, Bharti, Foxconn form JV, to invest $20 bn in solar project

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23 Jun 2015, 12:00 am

In a move to promote clean energy in the country, Japanese telecom major SoftBank Corp, India's business conglomerate Bharti Enterprises and Tiwanese manufacturing service provider Foxconn together have formed a joint venture (JV) and will invest $20 billion for renewable energy projects to generate 20 gigawatt (GW) of solar power in India. SoftBank, which owns one of Japan's biggest mobile carriers and is the largest shareholder in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba, will have majority control in the three-way JV, while SBG Cleantech ltd, which will promote the adoption of clean and safety energy, with Bharti and Foxconn as minority stakeholders.

"Softbank will take lead and responsibility to make 20 GW as a minimum commitment in solar space in India. In economic terms, grossly $20 billion will be the scale of investment, probably it could be one of largest investments by a foreign company in India," Softbank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Masayoshi Son told reporters here without divulging any details of share holding of the JV.However, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal said, "SBG Cleantech ltd will be headed by Manoj Kohli as its Executive Chairman, while Raman Nanda will be the CEO of the company which will be headquartered in the capital.

When asked about the time-frame and location of the proposed project, Mittal said, "We will start it very soon. As far as location is concerned, maybe in 2-3 days, we will be visiting two states - Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan - for inspection and will discuss all issues concerned with the project, including land acquisition issue with the respective state Governments."The Government in early June raised the solar power generation capacity addition target by five times to 100 GW by 2022 under the National Solar Mission (NSM)."It is a JV project, so $20 billion amount is not Softbank portion only. I would like to see this happening in next 10 years but how fast we would be able to accelerate will depend on local and Central Government and availability of land," the SoftBank chief said, adding that it would take two years for the project to start once all clearances and the land is allotted.

"As far as the JV is concerned, India can become largest country for solar energy. My investment will be not only for the business purpose, but also to help mankind in global environment," he added.When asked about location and finance of the proposed project, he said, "We are open to any location of India for the project. We need all cooperation and collaboration from our JV partners, the central Government and state Governments as well. As far as finance is concerned, Japanese banks also take participation in this project." The Japanese telecom and Internet major had in 2011 set up SB Energy Corp to develop clean energy projects following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.SoftBank, which has stakes in more than 1,000 companies the world over, has invested $1 billion in India in past nine months out of the $10 billion planned investment in Asia's third largest economy in 10 years.