Saudi Arabia Expands Anime Stake Following Nintendo Investment
Following reports of an investment increase in Nintendo, one of Saudi Arabia's top investment funds is moving its focus to anime. According to Reuters, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund has raised its stake in Toei Company from 5% to 6.03%. This comes after reports last month confirmed the organization raised its stake in Nintendo to 8.26% after acquiring 5.01% stake in the company in May 2022.
These two companies are hardly the first in the entertainment industry to catch the attention of the PIF. In February 2022, the group revealed it bought more than 5% shares in both CAPCOM and Nexon. It also acquired shares with other publishers and game developers like Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, and Koei Tecmo for example.
As for the organization's interest in anime, the stake increase is a long time coming. The public fund is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salam who also operates a foundation overseeing Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions. This company has worked with Toei Animation in the past on several local projects including The Journey, The Woodcutter's Treasure, and Future's Folktales.
For business-minded investors, anime has become a commodity in the past decade, and interest is only growing in the industry. Thanks to social media and streaming services, the popular medium has found massive audiences around the globe, and anime's diversity means there are shows out there for consumers of all ages. In 2022, the global anime market was valued at more than $28 billion USD and it is expected to grow nearly 10% annually through 2030. With a forecasted revenue of $60+ billion by 2030, more and more companies are investing in anime, and the PIF is the latest to increase its bid with one of anime's top distributors.
Of course, the continued success of anime and the industry's growth is riding on several factors. Currently, reports indicate the greatest revenue stream for anime is through merchandising, but streaming licenses are becoming more and more important. If you look back a decade ago, it was not easy to watch anime online as easily as it is today, and we have services like Netflix to thank. Crunchyroll stands as an industry leader for anime streaming, and as it has become easier to watch free anime online, the manga industry has followed. Services like Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app have made Shueisha's comics more accessible than ever. And as such, a number of its series dominate BookScan lists each month domestically. So as long as the anime and manga industries adopt tech early, their consumer bases will continue to grow.
How do you feel the anime industry's expansion is going so far? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.