The Dubai Borse has charged Peregrine Communications with promoting it as ‘the default lead exchange’ for the region and advising on its comms strategy across the UK, Dubai and New York.
Peregrine’s brief could expand to Europe next year. PRWeek understands fees could be in excess of £200,000, although the age-ncy declined to comment.
The news comes in the week the chief executive of Lloyd’s of London warned that the Emirate’s rapid growth has made it a major rival to the City of London. Richard Ward said underwriters in London — the world’s largest insurance market — are facing growing competition from insurers in Dubai that are willing to underwrite straightforward risks in the area.
Peregrine partner Anth-ony Payne heads the account, reporting to Dubai International Finance Exchange (DIFX) CEO Per Larsson.
‘We will work with our network partners in Dubai and New York,’ said Payne. ‘The Borse wants a co-ordinated comms strategy; it is already able to talk about successes like DPWorld. We have to show it has the systems cap-acity, the staff and the infrastructure for further success.’
Last month, Dubai Ports World, the Dubai-based global port operator that bought P&O last year for more than £3bn, announced it would list a 20 per cent stake in the company for around £10bn.
DIFX launched in September 2005 and has so far only secured a handful of major listings, with analysts suggesting it has some way to go to reach the prestige of New York and London. However, the Borse does sit within a rapidly emerging financial region. Earlier this year Bahrain was on the hunt for an agency to help it regain ground lost to Dubai and Qatar (PRWeek, 11 May).
Bahrain, for years the financial hub of the Middle East, has been overtaken in recent years by the high levels of investment taking place in Dubai.
