South African agricultural investment group Zeder has reported increased earnings for the year ending 28 February 2011.

The company announced that recurring headline earnings increased by 27.2 per cent to R264.7 million.

Stellenbosch-based Zeder is a long-term investor in the agriculture, food and beverage sectors. The current value of its portfolio is R2.5 billion, of which Kaap Agri and Capevin Holdings represent 78 per cent.

Toyota has announced plans to reduce production in its North American plants as a result of part shortages from Japan, where production has been hit by the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

The company said production would be suspended at its North American vehicle plants on April 15, 18, 21 and 25 (although the Georgetown, Kentucky plant will continue to assemble vehicles on April 21st). Most of the company’s North American engine and component plants will follow the same schedule.

Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company will boost its spending to around 60 billion dirhams this year, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Bloomberg reported that the state-owned investor, which holds stakes in companies such as the Carlyle Group and General Electric, will make substantial investments during the period 2011 to 2015 in Advanced Technology Investment Co., Mubadala GE Capital, Masdar, real estate and oil & gas, as well as a number of public-private partnership projects.

As part of a $600 million investment, GE is planning to build the largest solar panel manufacturing plant in the United States, after a breakthrough in technology.

Yesterday, GE announced that its CdTe (cadmium telluride) thin film solar panel has achieved 12.8 percent efficiency, as measured by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)—the highest-ever reported efficiency for a thin film solar panel. A one-percent increase in panel efficiency equals around a 10 percent decrease in system cost.

Engineering and construction group Costain has snapped up 75 per cent of Aberdeen-based energy engineering consultancy ClerkMaxwell for £3.2 million.

ClerkMaxwell’s management team of five will share approximately 70 per cent of the money paid for the business they started less than three years ago.

Costain also has the option to acquire the remaining 25 per cent of ClerkMaxwell’s shares.

Microsoft and Toyota have announced a $12 million investment in Toyota Media Services, a strategic partnership to make the automobile the ultimate mobile device.

The partnership intends to use Microsoft’s “cloud computing” Windows Azure platform to develop next-generation telematics services, fusing telecommunications and information technologies in vehicles for GPS systems, energy management and other multimedia technologies.

Toyota’s electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will be equipped with the new services in 2012, with worldwide roll-out by 2015.

South Africa is planning to invest R15 billion in a new rare metals processing facility, according to a report in the newspaper Business Report.

The project, which is expected to take four years to complete, would create 43,000 direct and 86,000 indirect jobs. Staff needed to work at the facility would number around 7,000, the report said.

After years of planning, design and construction, Singapore’s sophisticated new driverless Circle Line metro system is ramping up to full operation. Khoo Hean Siang, executive vice president at multi-modal transport company SMRT, explains to Gay Sutton how the knowledge and experience gained from operating and maintaining the majority of Singapore’s rail systems is benefiting rail projects across Asia.

Vopak Horizon has been a major contributor to the development of Fujairah, a major regional oil hub. CEO Walter Moone talks to Gay Sutton about the latest phases of expansion.

Since the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia in 1938, the country’s economy has grown exponentially, along with its hydrocarbon infrastructure. Over the last two decades, Yanbu Steel has become the country’s largest indigenous fabricator of specialist structures.