(Bloomberg) — Nintendo Co.’s shares rose as much as 3.9% after a senior executive with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund told local media it’s considering increasing its stakes in Japanese game companies.
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The stock climbed its most in more than a week, outpacing the market, after Kyodo News reported the Arab Gulf country’s Public Investment Fund was weighing deploying more capital to Nintendo and its sector peers. Prince Faisal bin Bandar, vice chairman of PIF subsidiary Savvy Games Group, said he preferred the companies themselves agreed to such a move.
The Saudi government is keen to mold the kingdom into a global gaming industry player and diversify a portfolio that relies heavily on oil. It’s betting $38 billion on the country’s potential to become the next hub for the video-game industry, and has been making bets in Japanese and Korean content providers.
Nexon Co., in which PIF also holds a stake, rose as much as 3% Monday morning in Tokyo.
PIF is already one of Nintendo’s biggest shareholders with an 8.6% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The fund has also made multibillion-dollar bets on other gaming companies including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Activision Blizzard Inc. and Kakao Entertainment Corp. A real estate developer backed by PIF is also developing a theme park outside Riyadh that features characters from the fictional world of Dragon Ball, the popular Japanese manga and animation franchise.
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