by Tatiana Repkova

The Financial Times is looking to double its distribution in the Gulf region to 10,000, and will stop circulating the Asian edition in favour of the European version of the newspaper. With a current distribution of just 5,000, the newspaper - which is perhaps the most prestigious financial journal in the world, after the Wall Street Journal - is taking the step because the European edition would better reflect “market demand.”

“There's an overwhelming desire in the region to have the European, rather than the Asian edition,” Mikael Heinio-Widell, managing director of the FT's Gulf commercial representative office, told ArabianBusiness.com. The European edition will launch in late May or early June, and Heinio-Widell says he hopes to boost distribution to “something closer to 10,000” within the next two years. He says the Asian edition was launched here mainly because of logistical concerns, but that new technology and tighter deadlines mean the European version can now be distributed, despite the time zone differences. The newspaper has just taken on a new “super-stringer” in Dubai, and Heinio-Widell says it is “only a question of time” before a dedicated bureau is set up here. However, he ruled out the possibility of a dedicated Middle East edition. “We don't do small regional editions,” he said.

Earlier this year, John Ridding, chief executive of the FT, met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The FT group is expanding its presence in the emirate, and will hold a huge conference at the Dubai International Finance Centre in November.

In other news this week, it was announced that new Middle East editions of The Times and The Sunday Times will be distributed in the region, with a print run of 15,000 copies per day. To avoid the difficulties of securing a newspaper publishing license in any GCC country, the newspapers will be published from London but printed in Dubai.

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