News

Bloomberg Hungary expanded its arsenal of state subsidies for home purchases to help revive the construction sector, triggering criticism that the plan offers inadequate protection and arbitrary criteria for savers. Members of the new building societies, known as NOK, will be eligible for subsidies of up to 300,000 forint ($1,090) a year if they pledge contributions for 10 to 15 ...

Bloomberg Norway’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low and signaled it’s prepared to ease policy further to ward off a recession in western Europe’s biggest crude oil producer. The overnight deposit rate was lowered by 25 basis points to 0.50 percent, the Oslo-based central bank said on Thursday. The decision was predicted by 18 of ...

Bloomberg As cement sets and hardens, it binds materials together, creating a stronger whole. LafargeHolcim’s first yearly results as a combined company gave little indication that their union has done similar. The Franco-Swiss cement producer, the world’s biggest, booked a 3-billion Swiss franc ($3.1-billion) impairment in the fourth quarter, attributed mostly to Brazil, Russia, Iraq and China. As a consequence, ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Amanat Holdings PJSC, the region’s largest integrated healthcare and education company, has announced its net profit of AED50.6 million for the period since inception on November 17, 2014 to December 31 last year. Amanat reported total income of AED89.6 million, comprised mainly of AED57.3 million of gain and dividends from Al Noor Hospitals Group and an ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Mashreq Private Banking has announced its partnership with Art Dubai Modern for the third year in a row. Mashreq is associated with Art Dubai Modern in various aspects since 2014. Ayman Abuhabsa, Head of Private Banking, Mashreq commented, said, “We are thrilled to be part of the continued success of Art Dubai Modern year after year ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Go Smart, the Dubai based software and mobile application developer, has developed a fully integrated and complete software solution for use by medical clinics called ‘smart clinic’. In a research conducted by Go Smart, the company found that nearly 80 percent of medical clinics in the UAE, which numbered 6,303 in 2014 in the UAE, use ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business wasl properties has announced the successful completion of its highly anticipated wasl hub project. The real estate management company, a subsidiary of wasl Asset Management Group, has strategically aligned its projects with Dubai’s plan to provide residents in established areas of Dubai with quality living. Its recent projects include wasl hub and wasl duet in Karama ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business Najd Rent-a-Car, one of the UAE’s leading automotive rental providers and a member of the Al Basel Group of Companies, has revealed its move to further invest AED5 million for the acquisition of eight new luxury cars to be added to its current fleet of vehicles in 2016. The move is part of the company’s continuing ...

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business Tadweer (The Center of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi) has launched a unique awareness campaign “Your Waste, Your Responsibility” at Khalifa Park involving over 1000 students from 50 government, private, foreign and Arabic schools across Abu Dhabi. This initiative has been organised in partnership with Averda and Lavajet, and in collaboration with a number of local ...

Tokyo / AFP Japanese exports to China rose for the first time in seven months in February, the government announced on Thursday, though analysts said the gain was distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday. China is Japan’s top trading partner, but the Asian giant’s economic growth has been slowing as Beijing tries to pull off a ...