JEDDAH: The Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG) is to publish the Kingdom’s first magazine on Islamic banking, which is one of the eight new Arabic magazines to be published by the group.
The group is also to launch its political-affairs title, Al-Majalla, as an electronic magazine starting April 1. “The decision was taken in light of the annual review of the group’s publications and projects being conducted by the investment committee of SRMG’s board of directors,” said the group in an official statement. The decisions have been approved by SRMG’s board of trustees.
SRMG has appointed Abdulwahab Al-Faiz as editor in chief of the Islamic banking magazine, which will be published by Al-Eqtisadiah business daily. Adel Al-Toraifi has been named editor in chief of the Al-Majalla electronic magazine, which will be published from the Saudi Research and Publishing Company’s (SRPC) headquarters in London.
Prince Faisal bin Salman, chairman of SRMG, said the new measures were essential for taking the company's publications and projects to new heights, and are in tune with new developments in the publishing industry.
“The publishing industry is expected to witness remarkable changes in the coming years and publishers should be ready for that,” he said. The industry is heading toward adopting a variety of means such as the Internet, mobile phones, television and radio to improve the content.
Prince Faisal said the group would continue to focus on investments in publications such as daily newspapers as well as weekly and monthly magazines. It would also focus on investing in specialized magazines in the light of their growing demand.
He said the Islamic banking magazine would be launched in May and emphasized the viability of the genre in the wake of the growing number of Islamic banks, rising global interest in the sector following the financial crisis, and expanding investments in the industry estimated at more than $1 trillion.
He said the new magazine would discuss vital issues facing the industry and serve as a reference on Islamic banking.
The magazine will be supervised by an editorial board that would include experts from the Kingdom and abroad. “This magazine would remain as a major source of revenue for years,” he said.
Commenting on the group’s performance last year, he said, “The advertisement revenue of the group in 2008 was the highest in its history as a result of more focus on publications that can mobilize ads.”
He also emphasized the need to rationalize expenditure and channel funds to vital areas. “This was the reason we decided to transform Al-Majalla into an electronic magazine,” he said, adding that publications that are in need of expansion and have readers in different regions of the world would go electronic. “This is the trend of most publishers in the world,” he said.
Speaking about SRMG's plan to expand specialized publications, Dr. Azzam Al-Dakhil, CEO of the group, said the Saudi Specialized Publications Company (SSPC), a subsidiary of the group, is in the process of publishing a number of international magazines in Arabic, including the French women’s fashion magazine, Madame Figaro, which will be published next month.
He said the group is also launching the Italian design and architecture magazine, Domus, in April.
Other magazines that are to be launched in Arabic include Robb Report, a US luxury lifestyle magazine, featuring products for affluent connoisseurs; Parents, a US family magazine; Better Home and Gardens, a popular US interior decoration magazine; and Quattroruote, a popular Italian automobile magazine.
Al-Faiz, editor in chief of Al-Eqtisadiah said his newspaper would soon publish a new magazine on business events, which will specialize in covering various private sector activities.
The group has been publishing an illustrated magazine named Focus, with Arriyadiah sports daily.
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