(News Bulletin 247) – The country’s sovereign wealth fund has lowered its stake in the video games group, reducing it to 7.54% compared to 8.58% previously. This while the fund had, the day before, declared that it was considering strengthening its stake in the Kyoto-based group, which had caused the stock to rise.

This is timing that may raise some eyebrows. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, sold Nintendo shares, reducing its stake to 7.54% of the capital, according to Bloomberg and CNBC, citing a statement made to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In its annual report, Nintendo indicated that the Saudi fund held 8.58% of its capital. The adjustment therefore turns out to be relatively moderate.

However, these share sales occur the day after the publication of statements going in the opposite direction. The Japanese press agency Kyodo News reported that the PIF was considering increasing its stake in Mario and Zelda’s company.

The media quoted the words of Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud, as part of an interview carried out on September 26.

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Diversification of Saudi Arabia

“There are always opportunities,” he said, stressing however that the Saudi fund did not intend to increase its participation without Nintendo’s agreement.

As part of Saudi Arabia’s desire to diversify its activity and assets outside of hydrocarbons, the sovereign fund has invested very significantly in several big names in video games. Its stake in Nintendo is worth around $4.8 billion at present.

But the PIF also holds stakes in other Japanese groups such as Capcom, known for Street Fighter, and Koei Tecmo. He has also invested in the Chinese mobile games and tech juggernaut Tencent, as well as in Nexon, a Korean video game developer but which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

“We don’t think the Saudis’ desire to build their own entertainment industry has changed,” Tomoaki Kawasaki, senior analyst at Iwaicosmo Securities, told Bloomberg. Many funds have to adjust their portfolios to reflect changes in market value, and that may be what happened here, he said, while adding: “The truth is, we don’t We can’t be sure.”