Japan to Invest in Thermal Power, Diamonds, Ports in U.S.

Tokyo, Feb. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan is seen selecting gas-fired power generation, synthetic diamonds and ports as the first round of 550-billion-dollar investments and loans it agreed to make in the United States, it was learned Saturday. The Japanese and U.S. governments will soon hold a meeting of a bilateral committee of minister-class officials to work out details. In the area of gas-fired power generation, power plants are expected to be built for data centers that support the development of artificial intelligence technology. There is an idea that Japanese digital investor SoftBank Group Corp. will design the power plants while other Japanese companies will provide power transmission and distribution facilities. U.S. gas turbine maker GE Vernova Inc. is also expected to participate. For artificial diamonds used in semiconductor and precision part production, a scheme is being examined that Japanese companies will buy diamonds to be produced at a plant that the world’s largest diamond maker De Beers will build in the United States. The other project under consideration is for Japan to participate in port construction in the United States. The combined value of investments and loans in the three programs is believed to reach tens of billions of dollars. The bilateral committee gives advice from legal and strategic viewpoints to a U.S. investment committee that suggests investment projects to President Donald Trump, who has the final say on the matter. The massive investment and loan program is intended not only to support the United States but also to strengthen Japan’s economic security. The focus is whether interests of both countries will coincide. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]