Namibia’s telecommunications infrastructure is currently undergoing amazing transformation. Andrew Pelis learns exactly why Telecom Namibia has been recognised for the impact its work has had on the creation of a vibrant national business environment.

After reporting profits for two consecutive quarters, General Motors Co. has announced that its CEO Edward E. Whitacre Jr. is to be replaced by Daniel Akerson from 1 September. Mr. Whitacre will remain chairman until December, when he will hand over that title to Mr. Akerson as well.

The announcement was made after GM reported its best results since 2004, with net income of $1.3 billion for the second quarter improving on the $865 million profit made in the first quarter.

The UK’s biggest energy supplier, Centrica, is buying natural gas assets in Canada from Suncor Energy in a deal worth £229 million.

Direct Energy, Centrica's North American unit, will gain 241 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas reserves in the Wildcat Hills area of Alberta, increasing its resources by about 60 per cent to 641 billion cubic feet.

Twenty miles north-west of Calgary, the assets consist of 97 producing wells and related infrastructure, as well as 42,000 net acres of undeveloped land.

General Motors Co. has reported profits for the second successive quarter, and is widely expected to be on the brink of a landmark IPO which could raise as much as $16 billion to begin the process of releasing it from government ownership.

GM reported second quarter profits of $1.3 billion today, on revenues of $33.2 billion, bringing its half-yearly profits to a total of $2.2 billion on revenues of $64.7 billion. GM reported a first-quarter profit $1.07 billion in May, compared with a $5.98 billion loss a year earlier.

Vedanta Resources is in talks to purchase assets or take a substantial stake in the UK oil and gas exploration company Cairn Energy.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the talks are at an advanced stage, with an announcement possible later this month. The companies are said to be discussing a range of options, including an equity stake, asset purchases or a complete takeover of Cairn.

Germany's Siemens is to build wind turbines to supply as much as 600 megawatts of energy for the Canadian province of Ontario under an agreement reached with Samsung C&T, it has been announced.

As part of the deal, Siemens will set up Ontario's first turbine blade factory. The German company said that the agreement with South Korea’s Samsung and its partner, Pattern Energy, will create 300 ‘green collar’ jobs and an additional 600 construction and indirect service jobs.

ArcelorMittal South Africa has offered to pay R800 million for Imperial Crown Trading (ICT), which holds rights to a 21.4 per cent prospecting stake in Kumba Iron Ore's Sishen Mine.

ArcelorMittal used to own the ICT stake, but lost it last April when it failed to convert it in line with new legislation.

Anglo American subsidiary Kumba owns the remaining mining rights to the Sishen project, which supplies ore to ArcelorMittal at a preferential rate, following an agreement made in 2001.

The US Department of Energy has finalized a $43 million loan guarantee for a company's flywheel energy storage plant, which is expected to enable greater use of solar and wind power.

Beacon Power Corp., based in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, is building the 20-megawatt plant in Stephentown, New York, about 20 miles east of Albany.