[Special Stock] Saudi Crown Prince's 1 Trillion Investment in Nexon Sparks "NetGames Soars"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Netmarble's stock price surged sharply on the 7th. It is interpreted that buying interest is pouring into Nexon's development subsidiary Netmarble as Nexon became the first domestic game company to receive investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

As of 10 a.m. on the 7th, Netmarble's stock price is trading at 20,400 won, up 14.93% from the previous trading day.

According to the gaming industry, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) recently purchased a 5.02% stake in Nexon Japan for $883 million (approximately 1.0589 trillion KRW). PIF disclosed the purchase of Nexon shares, stating the purpose as a "simple investment." PIF is a fund led by Crown Prince Mohammed. The fund's operating capital is about $500 billion.

The Crown Prince is promoting the national development project "Vision 2030" to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-dependent economy into a center for advanced technology and private investment. Among the key projects for this, gaming appears to be one of the main businesses, and Nexon one of the major investment targets.

Meanwhile, on December 16 last year, Nexon officially announced the merger of its development subsidiaries Netmarble and Nexon GT to maximize development synergy. The merger will be finalized after a shareholders' meeting. The surviving company will be Netmarble. The new corporation's tentative name is Nexon Games.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.