CJ to bolster Riyadh's cultural infrastructure with Saudi gov't

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, left, speaks to Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb in Riyadh, Sept. 4. Courtesy of CJ Group

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun has visited Riyadh and met the country’s ministers and key government officials to discuss how the Korean conglomerate can help the Middle Eastern economic powerhouse develop its local cultural infrastructure, the Korean company said, Wednesday.

Lee’s visit hits a note with the Saudi government’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the country’s local industries beyond petroleum to renewable energies, digital technologies, tourism, arts and entertainment. His visit is also in line with the company’s ongoing plan to expand its market in the region as well as northern Africa, together known as MENA.

According to CJ, Lee arrived for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Sept. 4, along with CJ Corp. CEO Kim Hong-ki, CJ ENM CEO Yoon Sang-hyun and CJ ENM Content and Global Business President Pious Jung.

During the visit, Lee met the heads of the Saudi ministries of culture, tourism and investment and the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) in separate meetings. CJ said that the chairman’s counterparts are Saudi Arabia’s key figures behind Vision 2030.

CJ has been maintaining close relations with Saudi Arabia in recent years. It hosted KCON, an annual K-pop concert, in Riyadh in 2022 and 2023. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman also met Lee in person during his visit to Seoul in 2022.

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, second from right, converses with Saudi Vice Minister of Culture Hamed Fayez, second from left, in Riyadh, Sept. 4. Courtesy of CJ Group

“On the occasion of the visit, we have reaffirmed CJ Group’s strong partnership with the Saudi culture ministry,” a CJ official said, adding that Lee visited Riyadh upon the ministry’s invitation.

During the visit, CJ delegation visited AlUla Studios in Saudi Arabia’s ancient oasis city Al-Ula and explored ideas on how to use the 25,000-square-meter film production stage at the studio for promoting Riyadh's cultural contents and tourism.

“Chairman Lee was impressed with the potentials of the Saudi cultural industry,” the CJ official said. “CJ’s knowhow in culture industries like entertainment and music and Saudi Arabia's cultural resources can generate outstanding synergy in the global market.”

Building on the Saudi government’s significant interest in entertainment and media industries, CJ said it will use Saudi Arabia as its regional footbed to expand its market across the MENA region, which has a local population of about 600 million.

“Using our developing network with Saudi Arabia, we’ll expand our businesses in the region where K-culture has been gaining popularity,” Yoon said. “And the country will become the key base of our global expansion.”

During his stay in Riyadh, Lee also visited the construction site of CJ Logistics’ global distribution center (GDC) near King Khalid International Airport. Saudi GDC is a key hub of the CJ Group subsidiary's global cross-border e-commerce market.