RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s creative industries received a game-changing boost on Thursday following the signing of three agreements with leading Japanese games development companies and animation studios to train Saudi young people and develop Saudi-created content.
The Misk Foundation and its subsidiary, Manga Productions, signed agreements with Square Enix, Shin Nippon Koki (SNK), and Toei Animation Studios at the Misk Global Forum in Riyadh.
The Misk Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Square Enix Group, one of the most respected and successful video game developers in the world today. Creators of the Final Fantasy series, Square Enix was an early pioneer of online gaming and 26 of its titles were included in Famitsu magazine’s “Top 100 Games Ever.”
The MoU will see Square Enix provide training and mentorship to young Saudi games developers through the Misk Foundation, empowering them to introduce more Saudi-created content to the world stage.
In addition, Manga Productions, a Riyadh-based games development, animation and creative studio, affiliated with Misk Foundation, signed a new agreement with Toei Animation Studios to jointly produce a number of anime movies and television serials to be shown in both Japan and Saudi Arabia.
The two companies have already collaborated on an all-ages television adaptation of the Saudi folk tale, the Woodcutter and the Treasure, which will be broadcast in both countries.
The collaboration will enable young both countries to share and appreciate each other’s culture, bring Saudi folklore to Japan and anime techniques to the Kingdom.
Manga Productions also signed an agreement with SNK, a leading Japanese computer games developer responsible for a range of seminal games across several decades.
Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions, said: “We want to further enhance the partnership we have with Japan in order to create world-class animations and games.”
Major boost for Saudi creative industries at Misk Global Forum
Major boost for Saudi creative industries at Misk Global Forum
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Musaned confirms mandatory salary transfers for domestic workers via official channels
- Move aims to protect wage-related rights, enhance transparency
RIYADH: All employers in Saudi Arabia have been informed they must transfer domestic workers’ salaries through official channels, starting from Jan. 1, 2026.
The move, confirmed through Musaned platform’s X account, aims to protect wage-related rights, enhance transparency and simplify employer-worker relationships.
The electronic payment service provided through Musaned will use approved digital wallets and participating banks to ensure reliability, security and consistency in wage transfers.
Ministry spokesperson Mohammed Al-Rizgi told Arab News that the move “comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to develop the domestic labor sector and strengthen the rights of both employers and domestic workers.”
Lawyer Majed Garoub told Arab News that the new regulation would help tackle persistent issues in employer-worker relationships, especially disputes over unpaid wages.
He said: “This regulation will significantly help resolve many problems that arise when domestic workers leave the country without proper verification of receiving their full rights.”
Garoub explained that informal salary payments were common in the past, often made without proper documentation or signatures.
This, he added, made it challenging for Saudi employers to prove they had paid all wages if workers later filed claims after returning to their home countries.
The new regulation, which has been rolled out in stages, began with domestic workers newly arriving in the Kingdom on July 1, 2024.
It was then extended to employers with four or more domestic workers in January 2025, followed by those employing three or more by July 2025.
The latest stage, which took effect on Oct. 1, applies to employers with two or more domestic workers. This phased approach has ensured a smooth adoption of the system for all employers.
Garoub said the regulation would bring broader legal and security benefits. He explained that informal salary payments had, at times, enabled illegal practices.
He added: “Workers might have falsely claimed unpaid wages or engaged in activities outside their employment.”
Such funds, he added, could even have contributed to crimes like money laundering or the financing of terrorism.
He said: “By mandating official payment channels, this regulation protects the Saudi economy, national security, and international financial systems.”
The Musaned platform offers significant advantages for both employers and workers. Employers gain a reliable salary verification mechanism that simplifies end-of-contract and travel-related procedures, while workers benefit from consistent, secure and timely payments.
The system also allows domestic workers to transfer their earnings to family members abroad through trusted channels.
For those who prefer cash withdrawals, a Mada card will be issued for secure and convenient access to salaries.
According to Musaned, salary transfers for workers covered under the Wage Protection System must be made through authorized channels.
This regulatory change marks a significant step forward in protecting the rights of domestic workers, ensuring transparency in employer-employee relationships, and bolstering the Kingdom’s economic and security interests.
