News

Abu Dhabi / WAM Abu Dhabi Ports has signed a Standard Musataha Agreement (SMA) with the Sobha Group, one of the largest real estate development companies in India and the Middle East, to launch a multi-use modern furniture factory in Khalifa Industrial City. The Chief Executive of Khalifa Industrial City, Mohammed Saeed Al Mulla, said that Sobha represents the latest ...

Dubai / WAM Emirates Airline and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Tourism Administration on Thursday held a route launch presentation, focused on educating key travel trade partners in the UAE and Middle East region about Yinchuan, one of Emirates Airline’s upcoming two gateways into Mainland China. The presentation comes just six weeks ahead of the launch of direct air services to ...

Bloomberg ­Bank of England officials kept their key interest rate at a record low and said uncertainty stemming from Britain’s referendum on its European Union membership may hold back investment and economic growth. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Mark Carney, unanimously agreed to maintain the benchmark at 0.5 percent — where it’s been for seven years. The ...

Bloomberg U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s statement that his new budget “puts the next generation first” isn’t enough to protect subsequent generations from the consequences of climate change, critics said. Just three months after the U.K. joined 195 other countries in a climate deal in a bid to restrain rising global temperatures by curbing emissions, Osborne’s budget cut ...

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 ...