The African nation of Botswana is a shining example of how a country can use its natural resources wisely to reverse its fortunes, as Alan Swaby learns.

Dampier Port Authority is on the threshold of a major expansion programme. Gay Sutton finds out from port development manager Dr Rochelle Macdonald how Australia’s second largest bulk export port is preparing to satisfy the export needs of the rapidly growing oil & gas and mining sectors.

Andre van Niekerk, managing director of plant hire group Masshire, talks to Jayne Alverca about the unique benefits he believes the company offers to its growing network of franchisees.

Sales of Toyota’s famous Prius hybrids have hit the one million mark in the United States, the car maker announced today.

The Prius has been the biggest-selling hybrid in the US since it was first launched 11 years ago.

Worldwide Prius sales topped two million in October last year; with Toyota hybrid sales globally hitting three million last month.

Drinks maker Diageo has made a bid for the Ethiopian state-owned brewery Meta Abo, according to a report in Kenya’s Business Daily newspaper.

The move could jeopardize East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL)’s plans to enter the Ethiopian market, the paper said. London, UK-based Diageo holds a 50.03 per cent stake in EABL.

Diageo is planning to expand its footprint throughout East Africa, and has so far used EABL as its vehicle in the region.

Diageo’s rivals Heineken and SABMiller are also said to have made bids to acquire Meta Abo.

Proxa Pty’s Aqua Mobile range offers flexible solutions to fit the needs of all its clients. Jane Bordenave talks to Elspeth Grahn about this exciting product.

Founded 25 years ago, Johannesburg-based Proxa is a leading provider of specialist water solutions for industrial and mining applications. It offers a wide range of products, from tailored permanent installations to mobile solutions—including the innovative Aqua Mobile range.

US chip-maker Texas Instruments (TI) has announced an agreement to acquire rival National Semiconductor, which will bring together two industry leaders in analog semiconductors.

The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, under which TI will pay $25 per share for each National share.

UK-based Sable Mining Africa has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Sierra Leone’s Red Rock Mining, it has been announced.

Red Rock holds a 50-year lease at the Bagla Hills iron ore deposit in the south-east of Sierra Leone. Bagla Hills lies about 52 kilometres from Kenema, and forms a continuation of the Western Cluster iron ore deposits across the border with Liberia.

 The lease area covers 206.75 square kilometres in total.

Automobile sales in the United States had their best month for some time in March, with all major manufacturers recording growth in sales, apart from Toyota.

Chrysler sold 121,730 cars and light trucks during the month, a rise of 31 percent over the same month last year, while Nissan sales rose 26.9 percent from 98,468 last year to 121,141—making March an all-time record month for Nissan North America.

UK-based Pan African Resources has been awarded a mining licence on its Manica exploration project in Mozambique.

The mining licence, converted from a prospecting licence, gives Pan African—an African-focused gold mining company—the ability to move the project forward to development stage.

The Manica licence area is situated in central Mozambique, approximately four kilometres north of Manica, which lies about 270 kilometres inland from the port city of Beira.