The UK and Cuba have formed a joint venture to build biomass power plants adjacent to sugar mills, it has been announced.

The agreement marks one of the largest renewable energy partnerships between the two nations.

Havana Energy, a UK group chaired by former UK energy minister Brian Wilson, will form a joint venture with Zerus, a state-owned company within Cuba’s Ministry of Sugar, to build up to five power plants fuelled by bagasse, the fibre that remains after sugar cane processing.

A new survey from Deloitte predicts a rejuvenation of the automotive industry, thanks to the purchasing power of Generation Y.

By 2012, Gen Y will account for approximately 40 percent of the car-buying population and represent a new breed of confident consumers who are independent, tech-savvy, engaged, demanding and, according to Deloitte's survey, just the group to help rejuvenate the automotive industry.

Online retail giant Amazon is to create 950 new jobs across two sites in Scotland, it has been announced.

The majority of the posts—750—will be created at a newly-built plant distribution centre in Dunfermline, Fife, with another 200 jobs being added at the firm's warehouse in Gourock, Inverclyde. At times of peak demand, up to 1,500 temporary jobs could also be created at the warehouse.

As South African business rides out the economic downturn, its consumer industries need to be responsive to customer preferences. Craig Leathwhite, CEO of General Mills South Africa, tells Andrew Pelis about the improvements being made.

Abraham Stephanos, COO of Tata Steel Processing And Distribution Limited, talks to Jayne Alverca about the challenges of shifting focus from a manufacturing orientation to viewing service as a key differentiator.

Joe Rousmaniere, CEO of PETRONAS Base Oil (M) Sdn Bhd, talks to Jayne Alverca about the alchemy that transforms a commodity into an added value product with a global market.

As African economies develop, many nations have learnt the value of maintaining links to their former colonial pasts. In Mozambique, the Cahora Bassa Dam has delivered energy across Southern Africa for over 30 years. Andrew Pelis explores how Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa has managed to maintain supplies through a turbulent 30 years, with a little help from Portugal.

Fishing is an important industry in Namibia but unlike some other fish species, the country’s merluccius capensis (shallow water hake) and merluccius paradoxes (deep water hake) are managed responsibly. Managing director Hendrik van der Westhuizen tells John O’Hanlon how Hangana Seafood (Pty) Ltd remains a sustainable business based on a sustainable resource.

Biggest doesn’t have to be best but the scale of Eskom’s Kusile coal-fired power station is of strategic importance to the hard-pressed utility: it has to catch up with ever increasing demand from industry and South Africa’s mass electrification programme.

Over 30 years Dolphin Offshore Enterprises has emerged as India’s primary offshore oil and gas industry diving and engineering service company, with a reputation for efficiency and innovation. Joint managing director Navpreet Singh talks to Gay Sutton about his strategy for expansion and development.