The niche Pesco has occupied so successfully is in the provision to its clients of specialised machinery, sourced from around the world, that they need in their operations. As a measure of its success we need only look at the sales graph: since it was founded in 1998 turnover has progressively risen from zero to more than $55 million in 2012.

“Gold is a most conservative and passive investment, but the same cannot be said of gold mining in emerging markets. To succeed here a company must be flexible and on the move. Its management must be adept and have a keen eye for untapped value.”

It was in July 1887 that Scottish academic James Blyth installed the world’s first electricity-generating wind turbine. Although at the time considered uneconomical in the UK, electricity generating wind turbines proved to be far more cost effective in countries with widely scattered populations, a fact that saw American inventor Charles F Brush follow up Blyth’s work some months later by building the first automatically operated wind turbine for electricity production in Cleveland, Ohio.

With a population of just over 30,000 people and a total area of some 459 square kilometres, São João da Barra may not be as recognisable as some of Brazil’s other municipalities, however it is the location of one of the country’s most exciting developments, the Açu Superport, the largest port infrastructure investment project in all of Latin America.

The group intends to pay £320 million to take a stake of almost 92 percent of Sunseeker International. The company is perhaps most famous for providing a number of yachts that have been used in the James Bond movie series.

The other part of Wanda’s first move into the luxury market will involve it making a £700 million investment in the development of a five-star London hotel. These deals follow in the footsteps of the group’s decision to purchase the US cinema chain AMC Entertainment last year.

Since it was established in 1985, Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) has provided a wide range of satellite communications solutions throughout Australia and surrounding regions, building up a reputation along the way as being the leading provider of reliable, turnkey satellite communications solutions, focusing on the mining, oil & gas, construction, education, defence, and maritime, industries.

I once worked on a project on which, during interviews, both parties to a large supplier-distributor business relationship described the other as a “blood-sucking weasel”. This was an extreme case, but most firms involved in business relationships probably can cite an example of an important relationship that was constantly under strain. William Blake, the English poet and painter, has been quoted as saying “He hasn’t an enemy in the world – but all his friends hate him”.

The event, which falls several weeks ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster than resulted in the death of 167 men, is designed to further encourage people working offshore to think about the lessons that have been learnt since the tragedy.

The keynote speaker is Lord Cullen, whose report into the tragedy led to major safety changes.

This past Friday 14 June, Mr Motlanthe presided over a special mining task team consisting of labour, government and mining company representatives. Together the team have put together a ten page draft agreement to reposition South Africa’s mining industry in order to make it more attractive to investors and enable the sector to contribute further to social and economic development.