Saudi Arabia has reportedly increased its stake in Nintendo for the second time in a month. The country’s mutual fund is now said to account for 7.08% of Nintendo.
The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has increased its stake in Nintendo to 7.08%, Trading View reports. The rapid increase shows that the fund’s holdings in Nintendo, along with many other video game companies, are growing.
Crown Prince buys even more shares in Nintendo
The fund first acquired a 5.01% stake in Nintendo in May last year. Just last month, that stake increased to 6.07%. Nintendo has previously claimed that it was unaware of the transaction and only learned about the Saudi investment from news reports when the PIF acquired its first 5.01% stake in the company. Since then, the company has not commented on the further investments of the PIF.
The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and his investment funds have made a number of investments in the video game industry in recent years. At the end of 2020, the fund acquired over $3 billion worth of shares in Activision Blizzard, EA (Electronic Arts) and Take-Two. Last year, the Prince bought a whopping 96% stake in Japanese developer SNK through his Electronic Gaming Development Company, taking ownership of Metal Slug, King of Fighters, and Fatal Fury studios.
صندوق الاستثمارات العامة السعودي رفع نسبة ملكيته في نينتيندو لـ7.08% ✅ pic.twitter.com/skn4tKahov
— برهم (@BrhmVG) February 15, 2023
Saudi Arabia’s investments in esports and gaming
The Public Investment Fund was also used to invest more than 5% stakes in Capcom and Nexon. These investments totaled over $1 billion. Last September, the prince announced that the Public Investment Fund would launch a new strategy for Savvy Gaming Group, which would include investing 50 billion riyals (equivalent to approximately $13.3 billion) to acquire a leading games company as a strategic development partner ” provides.
According to several reports, the public investment fund is extremely important for the crown prince’s goal of making the Saudi economy less dependent on oil revenues. And it seems the prince plans to invest primarily in esports and the gaming industry.
Problems with Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s continued investment in video game companies may cause some concern given Saudi Arabia’s long history of human rights abuses. The crown prince is accused, among other things, of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Public Investment Fund is intended to act as a long-term investment fund for the Saudi state and provide a reputable front for the country despite Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s bad reputation.
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