Research and development is not only the hallmark of Karbochem’s success but also its greatest opportunity for the future, as Gay Sutton discovers from commercial director and chairman Dr Abraham Brink.

In just two-and-a-half years, Etisalat Nigeria has carved a place for itself in the Nigerian communications industry. CEO Steven Evans describes to Gay Sutton how he aims to take the company to the top.

Software giant Microsoft has agreed to acquire internet phone service Skype for $8.5 billion, it has been announced.

In a joint statement, the two companies said the acquisition would increase accessibility of real-time video and voice communications, generate significant new business and revenue opportunities, and further extend Skype’s reach.

The move will also enhance Microsoft’s existing portfolio of real-time communications products and services, which currently include Lync, Outlook, Messenger, Hotmail and Xbox LIVE.

UK tobacco group Imperial Tobacco has reported a rise in first-half net profits of 34 per cent on the back of a strong performance in emerging markets.

The company said that net profit for the six months to March 31 was £926 million—up from £689 million the previous year—driven by a particularly strong performance in emerging markets outside of the EU.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced $2 billion of investment in high-speed rail projects across America.

Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia and Amtrak submitted nearly 100 applications competing for what the Department of Transportation has called an “historic investment”.

The Federal Railroad Administration selected 15 states and Amtrak to receive $2.02 billion for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects as part of a network that will connect 80 percent of citizens to high-speed rail in 25 years.

Morocco’s Jorf Lasfar Energy Company has awarded the contract for the development of a 700MW coal-fired power plant in Morocco.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract has been awarded to a consortium of Japan’s Mitsui and South Korea-based Daewoo E&C. The consortium will construct two new units (5&6), each with a gross capacity of 350MW, at the existing Jorf Lasfar power plant site (currently four units each generating 350MW) near El Jadida.

California-based business technology specialist Trimble Navigation Limited has announced a public tender offer for Tekla Corporation, a leader in building information modeling technology (BIM) for the construction industry.

Headquartered in Finland, with a US office in Atlanta, Georgia, Tekla has approximately 500 employees and operations in 15 countries worldwide.

Trimble’s offer of €15.00 per share in cash is being handled by its subsidiary Trimble Finland Oy, and values Tekla at approximately €311 million ($451 million).

Vale, the world’s second largest mining company, has opened a new coal mine in Moatize, Mozambique.

Activities at the new coal mine in the Tete province have commenced ahead of operations at the processing plant, with production due to start in July.

The $1.658 billion mine will have a production capacity of 11 million tons per year of metallurgical and thermal coal, which will be transported 600 kilometres from Moatize via the Sena railway line to a coal terminal under construction at the Port of Beira in the Sofala province.

Intel has announced a major technical breakthrough in microprocessors with a 22 nanometer chip using 3-D transistors.

Intel’s 3-D transistor design (called Tri-Gate) is now ready for high volume production and will be introduced at the 22-nanometer (nm) node (referring to the size of individual transistor features) in a chip codenamed "Ivy Bridge." More than 6 million 22nm Tri-Gate transistors could fit in the period at the end of this sentence.