Dubai: Yahoo is closing its last office in the Middle East in Dubai by end of April 2016, its senior communications manager told Gulf News.

The US internet giant had closed its Jordan and Egypt offices in 2014.

“We informed our Dubai-based employees that we have made the difficult decision to close the office by the end of April as a part of Yahoo’s effort to streamline our business and set the company up for long-term growth,” said Carolyn Clark, senior communications manager at Yahoo.

The Dubai Internet City-based company has cut down its operations after entering the Arab World, with the acquisition of Maktoob for $164 million in 2009, as part of restructuring in bid to drive more user traffic and revenue growth.

“We are incredibly grateful for our employees’ hard work and contributions. We will continue to provide our suite of consumer services in Arabic and English and our advertising inventory through Yahoo marketplaces and other advertising exchanges,” Clark said.

An industry expert said that the portal is closing offices outside the US as it faces pressure from the growth in Google and Facebook and its CEO Merissa Myers is facing mounting pressure to quit.

“The company is focusing on building its operations in the US through acquisitions. Yahoo still has a long way to go to be in the position of Google and Facebook,” he said.

There were rumours of Yahoo closing down its Dubai office in November last year but the company denied it.

That time, the company said that EMEA region continues to be an important market for Yahoo, and “we are strongly committed to delivering the best possible products and experiences for our users and advertisers,” the spokesperson said.

“In Yahoo EMEA [Europe, Middle East and Africa], we will be undertaking an operational review that proposes changes to the way our teams and businesses are structured in the region. This is part of our efforts to streamline our EMEA operations and realign resources and investments in a way that sets up Yahoo’s business in the region on a path of sustainable growth,” Yahoo said.