CNBC Sets Up Editorial Hub in Bahrain

LONDON/MANAMA: CNBC is to create a regional editorial hub in Bahrain to focus on coverage of the Middle East.

The hub, which is expected to be operational in the second quarter of the year, will coordinate and produce business and financial newsgathering from the Middle East. CNBC is in the process of recruiting an on-air presenter, reporters and production staff. The new post will contribute to CNBC’s pan-regional program Capital Connection, which will be tri-anchored four days a week live from London, Bahrain and Singapore. Also, CNBC’s half-hour monthly program Gateway to the Middle East will also be produced from Bahrain.

Mick Buckley, the managing director for EMEA at CNBC, said, "Bahrain offers the ideal location for CNBC’s hub, as the country’s infrastructure and location enables us to effectively cover the news from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other major centers in the region." He added, "We are now well positioned, working with CNBC Arabiya our local-language affiliate channel based in Dubai, to tell the Middle East’s business story to regional and global viewers in Arabic and in English."

Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, the chief executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), commented, “I am delighted that CNBC has chosen Bahrain as its regional hub. Our location as the gateway to the Gulf, skilled national workforce, and liberal business environment has attracted many international companies. For a major media organization to choose us reflects the high priority we place on openness and the steps taken to create an environment conducive to doing business in and from Bahrain.”