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British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser on Wednesday named PepsiCo executive Laxman Narasimhan as its next chief executive officer, to succeed Rakesh Kapoor.

British American Tobacco, the world's No. 2 tobacco company, on Wednesday forecast sales of vaping and e-cigarette products to accelerate in the second half of the year and announced plans to consolidate the business into fewer brands.

Adidas shares fell 1.5% on Wednesday on expectations that one of the German sportswear firm's top shareholders, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), was preparing to sell a portion of its stake, three traders said.

France's Dassault Systemes moved to build up its life sciences presence with a $5.8 billion cash deal to buy Medidata Solutions, a U.S. firm focused on clinical trials.

Saudi Arabian Airlines is close to placing a multi-billion-dollar order for aircraft at least partly involving Airbus jets, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Global deliveries for Skoda Auto, part of the Volkswagen group, dropped by 6.6% to 104,900 vehicles in May, pulled down by a weaker overall market in China, its biggest sales destination, the company said on Wednesday.

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it opened a research center in Tel Aviv, becoming one of several global automakers beefing up operations in Israel to take advantage of the country's vibrant technology sector.

U.S. private equity investor KKR said on Wednesday its investment agreement with the main shareholders in German publisher Axel Springer, under which it is making an offer to buy out minorities, was valid for five years.

By Thyagaraju Adinarayan, Emma Thomasson and Philip Blenkinsop

Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser has picked PepsiCo executive Laxman Narasimhan as its next chief executive, becoming the latest industry heavyweight to turn to a company outsider to tackle faltering growth and new media-savvy rivals.

Hong Kong's financial markets came under pressure on Wednesday, with stocks falling and demand for cash surging, as protesters clashed with police during a mass demonstration against legislation that would allow citizens to be extradited to China.

Hong Kong's government has indefinitely delayed the second round of debate on an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial for the first time, after chaotic protests by tens of thousands of people.

China's central government firmly supports the Hong Kong government in passing an extradition law allowing people to be sent to mainland China for trial, the foreign ministry reiterated on Wednesday.

Hong Kong retailer Alan Li shut up shop on Wednesday, joining about 100 businesses and numerous workers in a rare strike to protest against an extradition bill that many fear will undermine freedom and confidence in the commercial hub.

Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators who threw plastic bottles on Wednesday as protests against an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial turned to violent chaos.