Time is right to invest in UK-SoftBank CEO

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank agreed to buy UK chip designer ARM Holdings (LSE: ARM.L - news) because it believes the time is right to invest in Britain following the vote to leave the European Union, Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said.

"I know a lot of people are concerned about the complicated political situation in the UK and some of my friends have businesses in the UK and they're very afraid," he told a news conference in London after announcing the $32 billion deal.

"Some of them are discussing moving their headquarters out of the UK to relocate to somewhere else. I'm the opposite. I say this is the time to invest with a strong commitment and belief in the future of the UK. I'm a strong believer in the UK."

Britain's shock vote to leave the 28-member bloc on June 23 has hammered sterling and unnerved investors in the world's fifth-largest economy.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Jemima Kelly; writing by Kate Holton; editing by Paul Sandle)