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CJ ENM establishes Saudi Arabia subsidiary

Published: 23 Jul. 2025, 14:23 Updated: 23 Jul. 2025, 17:14

YOON SO-YEON
[email protected]

Entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM established CJ ENM Middle East LLC, its first subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, in a bid to expand the company's influence in the Middle East upon the popularity of Korean content.

CJ ENM Middle East set up camp in Riyadh as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CJ ENM. It is the first Korean entertainment company subsidiary to be established in Saudi Arabia.

The new Saudi company will utilize CJ ENM's expertise in content creation, production and distribution with the region’s rapidly expanding entertainment infrastructure and cultural demand. A wide range of projects are underway, including music, television, film, live entertainment and both scripted and unscripted content.

“This move marks a significant step in the company’s declaration of 2025 — CJ ENM’s 30th anniversary — as the ‘First Official Year of Global Expansion,'” said CJ ENM CEO Yoon Sang-hyun.

“Establishing a presence in Saudi Arabia allows us to actively engage in emerging global markets and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

CJ ENM signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture in 2022, followed by a 2023 MOU with Manga Productions, a Saudi content company, to coproduce and distribute content including animation, TV, films, webtoons and media infrastructure.

CJ ENM also hosted KCON in Saudi Arabia in 2022 and 2023. CJ ENM recently inked a major content deal with Shahid, the Middle East and North Africa’s largest Arabic-language streaming platform, to bring 20 Korean series to a broader audience in the Middle East.

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]