Facebook to Open Dubai Office on May 30

Facebook Inc. (FB), the social networking company that listed last week in one of the largest initial public offerings in U.S. history, will open an office in Dubai next week, a move aimed at capturing more advertisers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC region, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

The office will focus on dealing with advertisers from the Gulf, while digital advertising solutions company Connect Ads will continue to handle advertising from Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan on behalf of Facebook, one person familiar with the plans said.

Facebook will set up in Dubai Internet City, one of the emirate’s free zone business parks, with an initial staff of three people.

It’s official launch date is May 30, another person close to Facebook said to Dow Jones.

Facebook shares in New York dropped below $33 in premarket trading Tuesday, hitting a new low before their third session on the public market. The shares recently traded down 3.8% at $32.73 premarket, 14% below their initial public offering price of $38.

The fresh low comes after the social network’s stock tanked 11% on Monday as more investors and analysts began to question the size of the company’s public debut, which initially valued the company at $104 billion.