South Korean cosmetics maker Tonymoly said Thursday it has opened two shops in Saudi Arabia, tapping into the Middle Eastern market for the first time.

In December, Tonymoly opened its first shop in Andalus Mall in Jeddah, and launched a second one in the capital city of Riyadh.

Tonymoly said it will open 5-6 more shops in the first half of this year to grab a bigger chunk of the fast-growing beauty market in the oil-rich nation.

The firm expected sales to take off this month as more local consumers have shown interest in Korean pop culture and beauty products over the past month.

Tonymoly said it plans to open 50 shops in major Middle Eastern nations by 2018, including Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

"As Middle Eastern nations are set to ease regulations on females' economic activities, they have high growth potential to become the next big market following China," Tonymoly said. "We will step up expansion in the Middle Eastern market." (Yonhap)