Korea’s Kakao targets mobile infrastructure biz for Saudi tourism

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s mobile platform giant, targets the mobile infrastructure industry for Saudi Arabian tourism to expand its business into the global market.

Kakao said on Tuesday it discussed with the Saudi Tourism Authority cooperation in the culture, payment, mobility and communication sectors to promote the kingdom’s holiday industry.

The South Korean tech behemoth introduced its major businesses such as TechFin, mobility and communication platforms, as well as the global popularity of South Korean content such as webtoons and music. Kakao became the largest shareholder of the K-pop pioneer SM Entertainment Co. last March.

Kakao and the authority discussed the establishment of a payment system through Kakao Pay Corp., upgrading ride-hailing services and vehicle control systems in Saudi Arabia with Kakao T, and developing a customized information-sharing platform through KakaoTalk, while looking for additional synergy including business support.

TO ADVANCE SAUDI ARABIA’S OVERALL IT INFRASTRUCTURE

“We had in-depth discussions on measures to expand cultural tourism between two countries in connection with Kakao Entertainment’s various intellectual property projects, given the great enthusiasm for K-content such as K-pop among the younger generations, or those in their 30s and below, which make up half the kingdom’s population,” Kakao said.

Kakao aims to utilize its capabilities to advance the overall information technology infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, starting from these talks.

The Kingdom selected South Korea as one of its strategic partners when it unveiled Saudi Vision 2030, a framework to reduce its dependence on oil, diversify its economy and develop public service sectors such as tourism.

Kakao said Saudi Arabia has been in talks with the company to upgrade the tourism environment based on IT infrastructure and sustain cultural exchanges utilizing K-content.

In January, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed to invest a combined $964 million in Kakao Entertainment Corp.

Write to Ju-Hyun Lee at deep@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.