TOKYO: Following reports that a senior official of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was considering increasing its investment in the Japanese gaming behemoth, Nintendo’s stock surged more than 4% on Monday.
As part of a $38 billion drive into gaming as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 ambition to diversify away from oil, Riyadh has increased its stake in Nintendo to 8.6%. Additionally, it owns shares in Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Capcom, the developer of “Resident Evil,” and Scopely, the US mobile game developer behind “Monopoly Go.
In an interview that was published on Saturday, Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, the vice-chair of Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games, a division of the Public Investment Fund, told Kyodo News that there are always opportunities.
However, he clarified that the fund did not want to increase stakes without the firms’ permission.
“It’s critical to maintain communication in order to arrive at the proper conclusion,” he stated. “We don’t want to jump right in.” Nintendo’s stock ended Monday at 8,087 yen ($54.48), up 4.44 percent.
Savvy has already bought esports tournament organizer ESL Gaming and platform FaceIt. Riyadh last year hosted the eSports World Cup that saw 2,500 gamers battle for $60 million in prize money.
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