Mark Beyer

A DECADE ago Australia had 15 major grain handling and marketing organisations.

MULTIPLEX’S core construction business in Australia and New Zealand suffered a net loss of $2.8 million in 2003, the company’s prospectus has revealed.

THE State Government could be forced to keep the controversial Brookdale waste treatment plant open next year because alternative facilities will not be completed on time.

COMMERCIAL lawyer Neal Fearis believes the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has tightened its scrutiny of schemes of arrangement during the past year.

MULTIPLEX has recently completed its board of directors by recruiting a former adviser to Prime Minister Paul Keating.

The listing of Multiplex looms as one of the largest deals in WA this year. Mark Beyer takes a closer look at the mechanics of the listing.

A MAJORITY of chief financial officers is yet to identify the impact of the planned introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Australia, according to a new survey.

ONE year after leaving Westpac Banking Corporation, Tony Howarth has returned to the finance sector as chairman of Home Building Society.

THE receiver of struggling nickel producer Bulong Nickel has commenced closing down its Goldfields plant, despite flickering hopes of a sale.

COATES Hire has quietly spent nearly $10 million in the Goldfields region, acquiring two major industrial hire businesses.

ST John Ambulance WA has outsourced its $45 million superannuation fund to Acumen Super.

WORLDWIDE Online Printing capped off nine years of growth by holding its first national convention for its 53 franchisees in Perth last weekend.

TOURISM Council Western Australia has entered into negotiations with Bendigo Bank to establish a ‘tourism bank’ to service the industry.

TAX accountant Mark Ceglinski has established his own specialist practice in West Perth after leaving Ernst & Young earlier this month.

ONE month after completing the sale of its 50 per cent shareholding in Plan B Financial Services, BankWest has launched its own financial planning business.

COMMISSIONING problems on a $35 million waste treatment plant have led to a split between engineering group Clough, its technology partner Bedminster and the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council.

CREDIT managers attending a conference last week had to deal with the fallout from a struggling telecommunications company.

PLANS for industrial development on the Burrup Peninsula have taken an unexpected twist, with two groups of companies now competing for one project.

TWENTY-ONE years after establishing Sons of Gwalia, Peter and Chris Lalor are starting to prepare for a final departure.

THE State Government has warned that it may prosecute employers who repeatedly fail to pay the correct award wages to their staff.

A SECOND successive year of investment losses has nearly wiped out motoring club and insurance group RAC’s annual profit.

TRADE payments by Australian industry have fallen to an average of 47 days, the lowest level in four years.

The financial planning industry assembled last week for its annual conference. Mark Beyer reports on an industry striving to lift its game.  

Thin Technologies and mBox have very similar histories but their future prospects could not be more different. Mark Beyer reports on two intriguing takeover battles.

THE Federal Government’s revised corporate law reforms have received a cautious welcome from accountants, auditors and company directors.

A SURVEY of small business has found that many organisations fail to regularly implement simple debtor management practices.

Western Australia’s major non-bank lenders should be thriving in the midst of a booming housing market, but Mark Beyer finds a mixed record.  

BURSWOOD shareholders will get a chance to have their say on new shareholder, Kerry Packer’s Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, when the gaming company holds its annual general meeting later this month.

THE Department of Agriculture has achieved big financial savings on its way to winning an environmental award for fleet management.

THE provision of additional infrastructure support is emerging as a key issue for planned industrial projects on the Burrup Peninsula.

FORMER property developer Tony Fini has unveiled an ambitious plan to establish a new tourism venture at his family’s olive grove near Gingin, north of Perth.

Nearly $100 million has been invested in olive groves in Western Australia over the past few years. Mark Beyer and Chris Leitch look at some of the looming challenges as the industry matures.