Mark Beyer

Western Australia is best known for its mining and agricultural exports, but in the past month a handful of local companies and institutions have announced deals that will widen the state’s export profile.

Managing risk in the financial sector  

Gindalbie Metals Ltd's biggest shareholder has taken legal action to block the sale of 32 million shares, or more than six per cent of its issued capital, that is caught up in the collapse of Melbourne stockbroking firm Opes Prime.

Finance fall-out still a big unknown  

40U40 winners selected for prize.

A state government decision to divert trucks off part of Leach Hwy will cost the industry $20 million, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA has estimated.

Look local for ideas

Australia's population growth rate has risen to the highest level in 18 years and Western Australia is leading the way with growth of 2.35 per cent in the year to Sepetmber 2007.

The Domenic Martino-chaired ComputerCORP Ltd has announced that its planned merger with Melbourne company Leading Solutions, which was designed to create a national IT business, has been terminated.

The state government has a record capital works budget, but does it have the right priorities and can it deliver?

Despite big investments in energy infrastructure, Western Australia is still subject to major disruptions.

Ask Western Australia’s two major business groups about their infrastructure priorities and the response is unexpected.

WA keeps rolling on 

More than $6 billion is likely to be invested in Western Australia’s energy infrastructure over the next four years to meet growing demand for electricity and improve reliability. The biggest investment will be the progressive upgrade of Western Power’s

Seven Network Ltd chairman Kerry Stokes plans to break his silence on his challenge to the board of West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd, agreeing to speak exclusively at a WA Business News' Success and Leadership breakfast.

Energy giant Chevron has announced plans to develop its wholly owned Wheatstone gas field offshore from Karratha as a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, and says it is still pursuing plans to develop its long-delayed Gorgon LNG project nearby.

Aspiring iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals Ltd has disclosed that it may need to modify its start-up mining plans because of environmental issues associated with its $1.8 billion Karara project in the Mid West region.

Setting up the smart state

One of Western Australia’s major technology projects died a quiet death last week, two days before the Carpenter government cranked up support for the state’s next big technology project.

Listed accounting and financial services group Count Financial Ltd has bought a 25 per cent shareholding in West Perth firm RLF Bentleys Pty Ltd, formerly Rix Levy Fowler, for just under $1 million.

Listed accounting and financial services group Count Financial Ltd has acquired a 25 per cent shareholding in West Perth firm RLF Bentleys Pty Ltd, formerly Rix Levy Fowler, for just under $1 million.

BankWest's parent company HBOS Australia has reported a 15 per cent increase in profit, saying it is a good result considering the big investment in east coast expansion it has undertaken.

Traffic volumes in Perth are projected to increase by nearly 41 per cent over the next 15 years, substantially higher than growth in most other Australian cities.

Increasing wages may seem a strange way to cut costs and lift business efficiency, but that is one option proposed by visiting management expert, Verne Harnish.

The times they are a-changin’

Global investment bank UBS has established a Perth office, having previously serviced the Western Australian market on a fly-in fly-out basis.

Profit results lodged by a range of Western Australian companies this week indicate that it takes more than a resources boom for some companies to fire.

The federal government is looking for quick answers from a review it has established into the ability of temporary skilled migration schemes to help ease labour shortages.

The health, or lack thereof, of global credit markets is highly relevant to business in WA.

This week’s big economic and commercial news has highlighted the increasing importance of China to Western Australia’s future prosperity, and the relative decline of the US.

The Corruption and Crime Commission has released a series of explosive reports over the past three years, yet independent reviews of its findings have repeatedly reached contrary conclusions.

The increased iron ore price is great news for WA exporters but it does have a downside. It will quickly flow back in the form of higher steel prices, which will make future expansion projects more expensive.