Media is a branding opportunity for Bloomberg: Chairman Peter Grauer

We are very pleased with where we are today as far as the (media) business is concerned, Grauer said

Peter Grauer, chairman, Bloomberg, is a regular visitor to India. Grauer’s travels are somewhat linked to Bloomberg’s keen interest in the Indian market. The firm has a strong terminal business, which provides real-time financial data and analysis, a media business in joint venture with Quintillion Media (promoted by Raghav Bahl) and an enterprise products business targeted at banks and other corporates. In conversation with Viveat Susan Pinto and Urvi Malvania, Grauer (72) indicates his priorities for the domestic market and where growth prospects for Bloomberg lie. Edited excerpts:

Where does India figure in the pecking order of markets for Bloomberg?

From an emerging markets point of view, India is among the top two. The other market is China. We are very enthusiastic about the long-term outlook for India. While we have a global footprint, what is going to help underpin our growth, going forward, is markets like India. It represents a very attractive opportunity over the next five to 10 years or even the 20-year horizon.

Please indicate the areas of growth for Bloomberg

The terminal business will continue to grow as more companies demand real-time data for their needs. It gives us over 75 per cent of our revenue here. We are also looking at how else we can monetise the vast repository of data we have, the enterprise products business being one of them. As the market here matures, there will be greater demand for these solutions from companies as they begin to understand their significance. We will continue to work in this area. Media for us is a branding opportunity to create a higher level of consciousness about what Bloomberg is all about.

Are you disappointed with not receiving a licence yet for a business news channel along with your partner Quintillion Media?

We are very pleased with where we are today as far as the (media) business is concerned. While we would like to have a broad offering of media products, sometimes it happens sooner than expected and sometimes it takes time. We are patient about these things and are optimistic about the outlook for India. Our joint venture with Quintillion is doing well from a digital point of view (called BloombergQuint.com) and given that digital is an emerging area (in India), it presents an opportunity of growth for us as we go forward.

Bloomberg.com recently went pay at 39 dollars per month. Are you likely to look at more such measures to generate revenue in the media space?

We have been making news stories available on bloomberg.com at no cost. Compare this with other media groups such as the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times or The Washington Post, all of them have gone pay a while ago. We introduced the paywall (on Bloomberg.com) in May and were looking at 15,000 subscribers in the first year. However, we have 45,000 subscribers in five months, which is well beyond our initial target. It has given us the confidence to continue down this road and we are seeing this as a means to generate incremental revenue in the media business. We are not looking at any more measures to generate incremental revenue in media for now.

Will you set up an engineering base in the country in the future?

We have a small engineering unit in Pune. Of the 6,000 engineers globally in Bloomberg, around 3,200 to 3,300 engineers are based in Manhattan (New York), next to the product development and application specialists’ unit. That allows the two groups to work easily and seamlessly. However, given the importance of India in the Asia-Pacific region, we could have a meaningful engineering presence in the country. India is already a regional hub for the South Asian market. South East Asia is handled out of Singapore and North Asia out of Hong Kong. Japan, on the other hand, is handled by a (Bloomberg) team located in that country.

You are a passionate advocate of board diversity. But with the female employment rate at only 26 per cent in India, does it not make it challenging for firms to tackle the issue effectively?

Inadequate supply is an argument that is presented often, but that is no answer to the problem. To me, this is a race without a finish line. And it is in the interest of business houses to attract the most diverse and inclusive workforce. Also, it is the quality of leadership (in companies) that will drive this agenda forward.