New York- Bloomberg recently signing a long-term agreement with Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG) to launch an Arabic multi-platform for business and financial news service is expected to provide a qualitative transition touching on uncharted territory.
The arrangement promises exceptional press, media, technology, businesses, investment and artificial intelligence advances.
According to this agreement, SRMG, publisher of Asharq Al-Awsat, Arab News and al-Eqtisadiah, will launch a 24-hour television and radio network, an integrated digital portal and a dedicated digital platform under the “Bloomberg al-Arabiya” brand.
It will also publish “Bloomberg Businessweek” magazine in Arabic and launch a new conference and live events series.
Bloomberg al-Arabiya platforms will provide Arabic-speaking audiences around the world with news and analysis on the companies, markets, economies and politics shaping the Middle East.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Bloomberg Media Group chief executive officer Justin B. Smith says that Bloomberg has a strong global presence. However, he cites that the group, until this very moment, hasn’t sealed any deep and distinctive partnership or investment in Arabic in the Middle East.
The group realized managing some English media platforms in the Middle East is quite limited, said Smith.
Consequentially, Bloomberg turned its attention to markets in the Middle East and North Africa, which are dynamic markets growing tremendously.
Signing the agreement with a company with a publishing capacity as large as SRMG’s was the first step in entering those markets in Arabic.
With strong regional and local presence, SRMG’s wide-reaching publications and digital platforms are available across the Arab world, said Smith.
This partnership is a bilateral cooperation, that is to say, Bloomberg has the expertise, skills and capabilities in the field of economic and financial reporting and SRMG’s expertise in the Middle East and the Arabic language.
Our goal is to create a leading company for economic journalism in Arabic through various media outlets serving economic and financial decision makers and businessmen, added Smith.
A large part of economy-related media content Bloomberg publishes will be translated from English into Arabic along with other material from within Saudi, Gulf and Arab markets.
Bloomberg’s team is composed of 2,700 editors, journalists and financial and economic analysts spread across the world. The team leads one of journalism’s largest operations internationally.
Thousands of reports on world economy are produced daily, with an estimated 5,000 stories per day, said Smith.
Collaboration with SRMG will be on translating Bloomberg content and adding local, Gulf and Arab content--editors will then identify and select economic content apt for markets.
Investors, whether concerned with the Middle East, the European market or the US want to know as much details and economic news as possible in an immediate and detailed fashion, and not just an overview.
Smith said that it is expected that this partnership and information products it provides will have a huge impact.
Full news coverage of economic events, markets and emerging business play a key factor in directing the interest of investors.
There are already investors in the United States who are particularly interested in the Saudi market, said Smith.
Bloomberg has more financial and economic information than any other company on the planet and offers it across multiple platforms.
Partnering with SRMG is unique because it focuses on the entire Middle East region, explained Smith.
The company's strong ambitions to maximize their potential also make this partnership unique, he added.
