Informa to launch office in Saudi Arabia

Newly-formed ‘Informa Saudi Arabia’ to bring more world class events to the Kingdom

Informa Group plc, the world’s largest publicly-owned organiser of conferences and courses, today (Wednesday, 17 February 2010) announced it has formed a new partnership with the National Exhibition Company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Negotiations are in the final stages for offices in Jeddah to be operational by mid-March, the company said. Initially the office will consist of a focus team, but we will be looking for significant growth over the next three years,” said Peter Rigby, Chief Executive Officer of Informa, during a press conference today at the Jeddah Center for Forums and Events.

Events that the new entity will initially organise in the Kingdom include, Cityscape Jeddah and Cityscape Riyadh with more large scale events planned in different sectors over the next 18 months. In addition to internationally recognised event brands being launched in the Kingdom, Informa Saudi Arabia will also develop events organically, based on the unique local market dynamics in various sectors.

“Saudi Arabia is an incredibly important market for Informa’s global growth strategy and we are currently working on a number of ventures aimed at bringing more world class events to the Kingdom,” said Rigby. “The Saudi government has made commendable strides in the area of foreign investment and business activity and the timing is right for Informa to establish itself in this burgeoning market,” he added.

Rohan Marwaha, Managing Director of Informa Saudi Arabia, said the time was now right for the company’s expansion in the Kingdom. “Saudi Arabia has always been an important market for many companies in the region and with public and private sectors increasingly following a diversified growth strategy, there is no better time to support this growth through the organisation of world class business events in different high growth industries.”

“With the resolute support and partnership from the National Exhibitions Company, a prominent local events company, we expect to couple our industry expertise with this unrivalled local knowledge,” he added.

Hussain Al Harithy, co-owner of the National Exhibition Company, said: “Our partnership with Informa will help to develop the events industry in Saudi Arabia still further. Supported by our local knowledge, this is a first class arrangement for the country. The formation of Informa Saudi Arabia, a company registered and based in the Kingdom, is great illustration of the commitment that Informa has towards a long-term sustainable contribution to Saudi business.”

Also attending today’s press conference were Deep Marwaha, General Manager, Informa Saudi Arabia; and Mohammed Al Kassim, General Manager, National Exhibition Company.