Europe

Mr Kloppers’ retirement will see him replaced by Andrew Mackenzie who is currently head of the company’s base metals business.

Announcing his retirement, Mr Kloppers said the decision was "never going to be easy, however after almost 20 years with BHP Billiton, 12 as a senior executive and nearly six as CEO, I believe now is the right time to pass the leadership baton."

"The board has decided that Andrew is the right person to lead BHP Billiton in a changing global environment," the company said in a statement.

The company has revealed that two columns of oil have been found since drilling operations commenced in November at the Darwin field, about 80 miles north-east of Shetland. Further tests on both discoveries will now take place.

Leo Koot, managing director of TAQA's UK oil and gas business, said: "This discovery proves that the North Sea still has great potential."

The cash and stock deal worth $23.3 billion will put Liberty Global’s owner John Malone in direct competition with Rupert Murdoch, whose media empire owns 39 percent of Virgin Media’s pay-TV rival BSkyB.

To say that a company is responsible for revolutionising a specific industry sector is certainly a bold claim to make. Yet it is an utterly true statement to make when it comes to VingCard Elsafe. Since transforming the hospitality industry in 1979 with the introduction of the world’s first recordable lock, the company has continued to lead the market by continuously introducing new innovations.

Only a handful of cities in the world can claim a history as rich and diverse as that of Prague. During the thousand years of its existence, Prague has been home to Holy Roman Emperors, a seat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, capital of Bohemia and even one of the most important cities in the eastern bloc after the second world war.

Agreed on the side-lines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, the 50 year production sharing deal between Kiev and Shell is thought to be the biggest contract in Europe to extract natural gas trapped in shale rock.

Chief executive officer Sean Pierce discusses the rapid growth of Yilport Container Terminal and reveals that there is much more to come from the business in the years ahead.

Defined by the International Monetary Fund as an emerging market economy, Turkey is recognised as one of the world’s newly industrialised countries. It is also known to possess one of the highest volumes of cargo transit activity in the region. This growth in containerisation has significantly raised the country’s profile as a hub for international trade.

For the better part of three decades Inorganic Ventures has been a leading manufacturer of certified reference materials. Executive vice president Michael Scott, and vice president of operations Christopher Gaines explain how it is now targeting the lucrative mining sector.

Having existed as an exploration company up until recently, Auriant Mining’s aspiration is now to become a mid-sized gold producer. Chief executive officer Denis Alexandrov explains how the company is perfectly placed to achieve this.