Thomson Reuters expands Middle East headquarters

Following a ribbon cutting ceremony at Thomson Reuters offices in Dubai Media City, Joerg Floeck, President of Global Sales and Customer Services for Thomson Reuters Markets, and Basil Moftah, Managing Director of Thomson Reuters Middle East and Africa, outlined details of the past year's expansion.

Mr Moftah said, "Our hiring program in the region at this time of global economic fragility highlights our commitment to the Middle East. In the past year, we have played a significant role in bringing greater transparency to the financial markets as they continue to develop. More recently we have also introduced corporate services for companies in the region enabling them to efficiently and effectively communicate with their stakeholders."

Mr Floeck added, "Our leading technology coupled with our enhanced regional editorial offering means that our content is now not only timely and fast, but broader and deeper on the issues and market news that really matters to those doing business in the Middle East and Africa. As the leading source of intelligent information in the region we are looking forward to continuing to work with our customers as they drive their businesses forward."

This year Thomson Reuters reinforced its position as the leading financial information and trading data provider in the region by adding 104 new staff to support operations in the Middle East and Africa. Thomson Reuters now has 520 staff across the Middle East and Africa with 135 based in three locations in Dubai and a further 15 in Abu Dhabi.

The company has a longstanding and well-established presence in the Middle East, with Reuters News opening its first office outside Europe in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1866. Today, Thomson Reuters provides real-time intelligent information on all major Middle East and African equities, funds, indices and money markets. The company also provides comprehensive data on Islamic instruments as well as strong regional news coverage, including an Arabic service.

Thomson Reuters now covers a total of 22 stock exchanges in the region, providing information and trading connectivity for buy and sell-side customers, not only in equities but also foreign exchange, fixed income and commodities.

The company has appointed key senior personnel in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates in Islamic Finance, Investment & Advisory and Equities. Thomson Reuters this year also co-founded the Middle East Investor Relations Society and signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange to promote the benefits of transparency through effective communication between corporations and shareholders.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation has a long history of training and supporting journalists throughout the Middle East and Africa, and this year reinforced its commitment to this with the inaugural event at the Tadreeb training centre in Abu Dhabi.