Korea to commit $10 million to joint investment fund with Saudi Arabia

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Korea to commit $10 million to joint investment fund with Saudi Arabia

Published: 12 Jun. 2023, 17:47

Lee Young, left, Minister of SMEs and Startups, and Yousef Al Benyan, chairman of the board of directors at Saudi Arabia's SME Bank, during a fund establishment ceremony held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Riyadh on Sunday [MINISTRY OF SMES AND STARTUPS]

Korea will commit $10 million to an investment fund with Saudi Arabia, the Start-up Ministry said, after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the joint investment program for start-ups in November.

The $160 million fund will be partially used to support local start-ups entering the Middle Eastern market.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Saudi Arabia’s Small and Medium Enterprises Bank (SME Bank) held a signing ceremony for the establishment of the joint investment fund at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.

SME Minister Lee Young and Yousef Al Benyan, chairman of the board of directors at the SME Bank, attended the ceremony.

Saudi Arabia will raise $150 million for the joint fund, while the government-backed Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) will inject the remaining $10 million. Major investors from the Middle Eastern country include Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund Jada, or PIF, and Saudi Venture Capital (SVC).

Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed to invest at least $10 million in Korean companies through the joint fund, according to the ministry.

“With the establishment of the joint fund, we will strive to actively support local start-ups in attracting investments and making entrances into the Saudi market, with a goal of becoming the driving force for the second ‘Middle East boom’ for Korea,” said minister Lee.

During Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud’s state visit to Korea in November last year, the two countries signed a total of 26 MOUs, including the one between KVIC and SVC.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]