DAMMAM, 11 July 2003 — The new Arabic service from business network CNBC will be launched next week, it was announced yesterday.
Officials at Arabic CNBC said that the channel will provide 24-hour coverage of regional and international events.
Editor in Chief Dr. Waleed Al-Kurdi said the channel planned to fill the gap in business news left by other Arabic channels. “We are about to open bureaus in Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh and Manama, and we have a network of correspondents in London and New York,” Al-Kurdi said.
The channel will be largely independent and have its own editorial policy, with the relationship with the American parent channel limited to the technical side.
Al-Kurdi said the channel would also provide viewers with a forum for discussion of issues of concern to them such as unemployment, investment opportunities, living standards, jobs and the development of infrastructure.
The CNBC network has similar plans to launch other international channels. It currently broadcasts in Italian, Japanese, Turkish and Hindi, besides English.
The Middle East Business News Establishment in Dubai’s Media City last month set up the channel, with $45 million paid by nearly a hundred Arab investors. CNBC put up 10 percent of the capital.
Officials at the new business channel expect seven percent profit from the advertising market in the region, which is estimated at $650 million every year.
