Billionaire Soros to invest $500 million to help migrants, refugees

(Reuters) - Billionaire investor George Soros said on Tuesday, he would invest $500 million (385.39 million pounds) to meet the needs of migrants and refugees. The investment comes in response to the Obama administration's "Call to Action" initiative, asking U.S. companies to help ease the migrant crisis. "We will invest in startups, established companies, social impact initiatives, and businesses started by migrants and refugees themselves," Soros said in a statement. "These investments are intended to be successful. But our primary focus is to create products and services that truly benefit migrants and host communities." Soros, founder of the Open Society Foundations, also said he plans to work closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Rescue Committee to guide his investments. This comes a day after the ceasefire between the U.S. and Russia in Syria collapsed, after a deadly attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies near Aleppo. Soros first made the announcement in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. (http://on.wsj.com/2cE0JnK) (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair and Shounak Dasgupta)