Nintendo jumps after Saudi fund expresses interest in bigger stake

Nintendo’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.

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 (PIF) 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 would favor doing such a move with the support of the companies themselves.

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 South Korean content providers. It has presented itself as a long-term investor with the patience to wait out fallow periods in a volatile industry where hits are never certain.