S. Korea forges joint fund agreement with Saudi Arabia to support startups

[YONHAP PHOTO]

SEOUL -- South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups signed a joint fund agreement with Saudi Arabia's Small and Medium Enterprises Bank to co-develop funds designed to attract investors and support startups from the two countries.
 
The signing of the agreement follows the memorandum of agreement forged during the summit meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in November 2022.
 
The startup ministry said in a statement that the 0 million joint fund will be formed with Saudi Arabia as the main contributor. Korea Venture Investment will invest million. Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF Jada) will also participate as contributors. Both countries have agreed to mandate investments of at least million from the joint fund into South Korean companies.
 
"Through the establishment of the South Korea-Saudi joint fund, we will support our venture startups to attract investments and enable them to enter Saudi Arabia," startup minister Lee Young said in a statement on Jun 11.
 
The Yoon administration has been closely working with the Saudi Arabian government to accelerate the exchange in various sectors including startups, entertainment, joint funds, and joint investments. As a result, Seoul has forged a total of 26 memorandum of understanding documents with its Saudi Arabian counterparts.