Saudi Arabia’s PIF reduces stake in Nintendo, despite recent reports suggesting it would increase it 

Earlier this week, positive comments by Saudi Arabian Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud in an interview with Kyodo News hinted that the PIF would be buying more shares in Japanese video game companies (related article). This boosted the value of a number of Japanese game companies’ stocks- including Nintendo. However, in a sudden twist, it was revealed that PIF has actually been selling some of its Nintendo shares over the past few months. 

PIF is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. In recent years it has invested widely in the video game industry, including in companies like Activision Blizzard, Nintendo, Capcom, Nexon and Koei Tecmo. Until recently, it held a 8.58% stake in Nintendo. 

The Kyodo News interview, conducted at Tokyo Game Show in September and first published in Japanese on October 5, prominently referenced the prince’s comment that “”It’s always a possibility” that the PIF will invest more in Japanese game companies. However, in the same interview, he also stated “We don’t want to rush into anything.” It seems that investors were quick to react positively to this reserved wording, causing Japanese video game company stocks to rise. Nintendo’s share value reached a peak of 8,140yen in the afternoon of Monday October 8. 

However, a Japanese regulatory filing released after the market closed on October 8 revealed that the PIF had actually offloaded some of its Nintendo shares. The stake held by PIF fell to 7.54% from 8.58%- a drop of just over 1%. According to Bloomberg, these shares were sold during the period between August 21 to October 1, 2024. 

As a result, Nintendo’s stocks have fallen today to 7,849yen (source: Game Biz). However, PIF still remains one of Nintendo’s major shareholders. Even though the reason for selling some of its shares is not known, it seems unlikely that the PIF has changed its outlook on fostering the video gaming industry.