AMEinfo.com is a provider of online business information about the Middle East region. Founded in the United Arab Emirates in 1993, AMEinfo.com offers English and Arabic information in daily news wires, editorial columns, feature articles, reports, video and radio features, including business directory information and event listings.

History

AMEinfo.com was initially Arabian Modern Equipment Est., incorporated in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

, February 1993 by Saif Al-Suwaidi and

Klaus Lovgreen AMEinfo.com is a provider of online business information about the Middle East region. Founded in the United Arab Emirates in 1993, AMEinfo.com offers English and Arabic information in daily news wires, editorial columns, feature articles, report ...

. The first version of the AME Info

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database of 125,000 companies was developed and compiled late 1996 and sold some 10,000 copies. In mid-1996, Lars B. Nielsen joined the company as a shareholder and head of sales. In 1997, sponsors including Royal Dutch Shell Middle East and

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

allowed the concept to expand, and the 1998 edition of AME Info reached a free circulation of more than 180,000 copies (20,000 were distributed in a branded version through Shell in the Middle East magazine). Following the 1998 edition, more branded versions were produced for Royal Dutch Shell Middle East, Batelco, Orbit Television and Radio Network and Intel. The circulation in 1999 topped out at some 250,000 free copies distributed through direct mail and magazines including Shell in the Middle East, Gulf Marketing review, The Middle East and Windows User Magazine. In 1999, the company shifted from the

platform to the Internet and added content such as company news and current events to the services. In the autumn of 2000, the company added a journalistic touch to the content portfolio and launched AME Info FN headed by Peter Cooper - concentrating on the financial markets and economics in the region. In November 2000, AME Info was awarded "Best Commercial Services Site" by Visa International and Arabian Business. Professional contributors across the region have joined the site with content columns including topics such as e-business, environment, education, defence and currency commentary among others. In May 2001, the company moved to

Dubai Media City Dubai Media City (DMC), part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates. History and profile The Dubai Media City was established and built in 2000 and inaugurated in January 2001 by the government of Dubai to boo ...

becoming AME Info FZ LLC and expanded its content into multimedia. Its content includes video and audio features, as well as streaming

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

and business tools such as a currency converter. In May 2002, AME Info entered into a significant marketing tie-up with CNN International. Under the agreement the two organizations would respectively promote each other's services online and on air. The agreement was extended to include all of 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 ensuring daily exposure for AME Info on global CNN International and constant presence for CNN on AMEInfo.com. In March 2005,

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Private Equity Middle East Ltd acquired a significant equity stake in AME Info FZ LLC. AMEinfo.com was the first Middle East website to achieve certification from the

Audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing ...

Bureau of Circulations (ABC ELECTRONIC). In July 2006, London-based EMAP Emap plc (EMA.L) announced that Emap Communications, its business-to-business (B2B) division, has acquired AME Info. AME was to form a part of Emap’s Middle East business which included

MEED MEED, formerly ''Middle East Economic Digest'', is a media publishing company founded in 1957 focused on economic and business news related to the Middle East. MEED also provides advertising and marketing services. History The first issue o ...

. The value of the deal was $29 million. According to th
ABC audit figures
published for March 2012, AMEinfo.com’s monthly unique browsers is now over 2.4 million. In June 2013, AME Info was acquired by MediaQuest together with sister site SME Info for an estimated US $1 million.{{Cite news, url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/ameinfo-website-bought-by-rival-dubai-publisher-504219.html, title=AMEinfo website bought by rival Dubai publisher, work=ArabianBusiness.com, access-date=2018-05-30, language=en

References

Mass media companies of the United Arab Emirates Companies based in Dubai