RIYADH: Japan investment company SoftBank Group Corp has a warchest of up to $10 billion to invest in Indian companies, the CEO of its investment advisors division revealed at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum on Thursday. SoftBank is planning to increase its stakes in India — having invested $3 billion in 2021 — just as global firms grow more wary of bets in China thanks to tighter regulations across a number of industries hurting deals there. The Japanese company invested early in the Indian market, taking a stake in ride-hailing giant Ola and e-commerce leader Flipkart, before its acquisition by Walmart. SoftBank also invested in digital payments pioneer Paytm. India’s tech ecosystem is taking off and SoftBank’s patience will be “rewarded,” SoftBank Investment Advisers CEO Rajeev Misra said, adding: “It is India’s time.” Additionally, the Japanese company is nearing a deal to buy a stake in Washington-based technology unicorn Icertis, valuing the enterprise software maker at about $5 billion, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. The Japanese investor will pay about $80 million for the stake owned by Fidelity-backed Eight Roads Ventures, and is also looking to further raise its holdings in Icertis, which has operations in India, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty the transaction will go through, the people said.