Bloomberg The Czech central bank stepped up efforts to cool the mortgage market, warning that rising house prices may spiral out of control and hurt lenders in a country with one of Europe’s lowest levels of housing loans. As record-low interest rates helped fuel a credit expansion in the ex-communist European Union member, policy makers in Prague are pushing for …

Bloomberg Brad Demong and Leander Christofides, senior private-credit investors who left JPMorgan Chase & Co. last year, rejoined the bank to run a newly formed global special situations group in its asset management division. As the team’s co-chief investment officers, the pair will report to Anton Pil and Chris Hayward, co-managing partners of JPMorgan’s global alternatives unit, according to a …

Dubai / WAM The Mohammed bin Rashid Fund (MBRF), the financial arm of Dubai SME, an agency of Dubai Economy mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, and Beehive, the first and only regulated peer-to-peer lending platform in the MENA region, providing innovative online financing solutions for SMEs, have signed an MoU to facilitate SME financing and …

ASTANA / WAM Ministers and high-level officials from 85 countries have sent a strong signal in a statement adopted at the Ministerial Conference during the Eighth International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development, which has opened in Astana, Kazakhstan. Seven voluntary actions in the Ministerial Declaration outline ways to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy system, from establishing national …

DUBAI / Reuters Abu Dhabi’s Dana Gas said it would propose restructuring $700 million of outstanding Islamic bonds on Tuesday to a committee of holders of the sukuk, which it said was not sharia-compliant. “The company has recently received legal advice that the sukuk in its present form is not sharia-compliant and is therefore unlawful under United Arab Emirates law,” …

Dubai / Emirates Business Businesses across the UAE are scrambling to hire new talent for their rapidly changing IT needs, brought about by the consumer shift to mobile, evolving web technologies and increasing cyber threats, according to a study of the UAE’s IT job market just released by GulfTalent, one of the largest online recruitment portals in the Middle East. …

SHARJAH / WAM Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has launched the first Sharjah Summer, an array of entertainment, arts and cultural events and shows aimed at boosting the emirate’s tourism. Organised by 28 public and private sectors entities across the emirate, the fair will run from June 27 to September 8, and includes a package of world-class events …

Dubai / Emirates Business Dubai has emerged as one of the top 10 destinations for international meetings, according to the latest edition of the International Meetings Statistics Report published last week by Union of International Associations (UIA). The report ranked 1,157 cities globally based on the total number of international meetings that took place during the year. Previously ranked 14th …

Dubai / WAM Dubai Investments Real Estate Company (DIRC), a subsidiary of Dubai Investments, has announced the completion of preparation work, including excavation and shoring works, for the first phase of its AED3 billion Mirdif Hills project, currently under construction in the Mirdif area of Dubai. The first phase of Mirdif Hills includes 1,054 apartments in its three components, Janayen …

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Tadweer (The Centre of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi) organized a Ramadan evening to highlight the importance of leadership in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), as well as a two-way consultation workshop for Tadweer’s top management, contractors and waste sector entities. The event aimed to underline the challenges the companies are facing with respect to …