Team Naver Establishes Joint Venture with Saudi Housing Authority to Promote Digital Twin and More

On the 11th (local time), following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a joint venture between Team Naver and NHC, Kim Yoo-won, CEO of Naver Cloud (from left), Choi Byung-hyuk, Ambassador of South Korea to Saudi Arabia, Chae Sun-joo, Head of External and ESG Policy at Naver, Majed Al Hogail, Minister of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Ihab Alhashani, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Mohamed Albouti, CEO of NHC, and Rayan Alaqeel, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), posed for a commemorative photo. Provided by Naver

Team Naver announced on the 18th that it is promoting the establishment of a joint venture with the National Housing Company (NHC), a state-owned enterprise under the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing.

The company explained that through this, a business unit joint venture (JV) in the Saudi region will be established along with Naver Arabia (tentative name), which will oversee Middle East operations.

Team Naver and NHC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focused on establishing the joint venture at Cityscape 2024, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from the 11th to the 14th.

The new joint venture, under Naver Arabia and in partnership with NHC, will be responsible for operating and commercializing a digital twin platform in the Saudi region. This JV will be Team Naver’s first business entity to develop a technology platform business in the Middle East.

NHC handles 70% of real estate transactions within Saudi Arabia. Currently, it is focusing on digital innovation in the real estate sector and smart city development. Since its establishment in 2016, more than 380 real estate development projects, including public housing supply, have been completed or are underway. The value of the real estate portfolio provided by NHC is expected to exceed $60 billion (approximately 80 trillion KRW) by the end of 2025.

Through this JV, Team Naver and NHC plan to not only operate and commercialize the Saudi digital twin platform but also promote urban public monitoring platforms and map-based super apps for public administration purposes.

Chae Seon-ju, Head of External and ESG Policy at Naver, said, "As various Saudi ministries and agencies positively evaluate Team Naver’s unique global technology and business competitiveness, we will expand business opportunities locally with diverse partners."