Facebook to open office in Dubai

DHAKA: Facebook is set to open an office at Dubai Internet City on May 30.

‘Facebook will be holding a media briefing on Wednesday to announce the opening of the office’, Samer Renno, CEO and Managing Director at Renno Communications, the public relations company for Facebook, told Gulf News.

He was not ready to disclose further details.

The company, that listed last week in one of the largest initial public offerings in US history, is aiming to capture more advertisers from the Gulf, Zawya Dow Jones reported.

The Dubai office will focus on dealing with advertisers from the Gulf, while digital advertising solutions company Connect Ads will continue to handle advertising from Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan on behalf of Facebook.

The company’s shares retreated 6.7 percent early on Tuesday after an 11 percent drop on Monday.

At the low, the stock had lost 30 per cent from an intraday high of $45 hit shortly after trading started on Friday.

More than 28 million shares were traded in early action on n Tuesday, making it one of the most actively traded in US markets.

They were trading 2.1 per cent lower at $33.31.

BDST: 1710 HRS, MAY 23, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor