 | |
Native name | Интерфакс |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private limited company |
| Industry | News media |
| Founded | September 1989 (1989-09) |
| Headquarters | 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya str. 2,, Russia |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Mikhail Komissar [ru] (chairman andCEO) Vladimir Gerasimov (executive director; Interfax Group. general director) |
| Products | Wire service |
| Owner | Senior management |
Number of employees | Over 1,000 |
| Website | interfax.com |
Interfax (Russian:Интерфакс) is aRussiannews agency.[1][2] The agency is owned by Interfax News Agencyjoint-stock company and is headquartered inMoscow.
As the first non-governmental channel of political and economic information about the USSR,[3] Interfax was formed in September 1989, duringMikhail Gorbachev’sperestroika andglasnost period, byMikhail Komissar and his colleagues frominternational broadcasting station 'Radio Moscow', a part of SovietGosteleradio system. Interfax originally usedfax machines for text transmission, hence the company name.[4]
By 1990, Interfax had 100 subscribers and the agency quickly began to attract the attention of conservatives within the government, who attempted to shut down the agency. This saw the agency gain prominence in major western media, a position strengthened by its coverage of the1991 August Putsch and thecollapse of the Soviet Union.[5]
Interfax continued to expand in the 1990s, addingsubsidiary agencies forfinancial,metallurgical,oil and gas markets, information products onagriculture,business law,transport,telecommunications,[4] and the market data terminal 'EFiR information system' forstock market players to its general news coverage.[6] Interfax also opened subsidiaries across thepost-Soviet states, first in Ukraine (1992), Belarus (1993) and Kazakhstan (1996), and later in Azerbaijan (2002),[7] during this time bringing the number of local offices across theregions of Russian Federation to 50.[8]
To promote its information products abroad, Interfax opened its first company outside the former USSR in 1991, when 'Interfax America' was opened inDenver, CO. This was followed by the opening ofLondon-based 'Interfax Europe Ltd.' (1992), 'Interfax Germany GmbH', based inFrankfurt (1993), and the 'Interfax News Service Ltd.' inHong Kong (1998).[7]
In 2004, Interfax created the 'SPARK system' designed to checkbusiness agents in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan,[9] Interfax also launchedmedia monitoring services through its 'SCAN system'.[10] In 2011, the company added London-based project, 'Interfax Global Energy', which reports on theenergy markets worldwide.[11]
In 1999, Interfax launched arating agency in partnership withMoody's Investors Service to provide rating services on theRussian market.[7] SPARK system became the basis for ajoint venture withDun & Bradstreet, a provider ofbusiness credit information andcredit reports.[12] Also in 1999, Interfax and Reuters signed a cooperation agreement.[13]
Since 2001, Interfax has collaborated withBusiness Wire, which distributescorporate regulatory disclosures andpress releases.[7] Interfax also offers consumercredit reports via a joint venture withExperian andSberbank of Russia.[10]
'Interfax Group'senior management includesMikhail Komissar aschairman of the board andCEO, Vladimir Gerasimov,executive director and general director of financial and business information service, Georgy Gulia, executive director of general information service.[14]
Interfax provides general and political news, businesscredit information, industry analysis,market data andbusiness solutions forrisk, compliance andcredit management. The company employs over 1,000 staff in over 70 bureaus worldwide and publishes over 3,000 stories each day.[15]
Interfax controls around 50% of the Russiancorporate data market.[16]Subscription-based business andfinancial intelligence contribute to the bulk of the revenues generated by Interfax withIT-analytical business solutions accounting for approximately 75% of revenue.[17]
Interfax'sholding company[clarification needed] comprises more than 30 news producing and marketing companies inRussia,Ukraine (Interfax-Ukraine),Kazakhstan,Belarus,Azerbaijan, theUnited Kingdom, theUnited States,Germany andChina.[18]
In 2015, Interfax was awarded theRunet Prize in the category "Culture, Media and Mass Communications"[19] by the RussianFederal Agency for Press and Mass Media.
In 2016, Interfax was awarded the Runet Prize in the category “Economy, Business and Investment".[20]
