Mark Beyer

BHP Billiton spin-off South32 has closed its first day of trade on the ASX valued at $10.91 billion, ranking it as Western Australia’s third largest company and a top 30 stock nationally.

Having run the local operations of multinational MTU Detroit Diesel for 10 years, Mike Cippitelli has established a new business that is defying the tough times facing many operators in Western Australia.

Michael Chaney’s return to Wesfarmers confirms his standing as the most influential company director in WA. Click through to see our listing of the 12 Most Influential company directors in WA.

The ‘iron ore wars’ and budget battles are defining where power and influence lies in business and politics in WA. Read our latest Most Influential feature to see who is on the rise, whose influence is waning and who has dropped off the list.

The new chair of the University of Western Australia’s Energy and Minerals Institute says scientists and researchers need to deliver tangible results to their industry partners.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared support for an inquiry into the iron ore industry, providing a huge boost for the campaign being waged by Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest against his two biggest competitors.

The state government’s decision to sell Fremantle Ports is likely to halt two separate sale and tender processes currently under way, including privatisation of the port’s automotive trade.

The state government is aiming to collect up to $5 billion from a vastly expanded privatisation program that includes Fremantle Ports, the TAB, office buildings, residential land estates, Keystart loans, houses, plantations and power stations.

Premier Colin Barnett has rejected calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the iron ore industry, despite repeating his criticism of the major producers.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton have highlighted their competitive advantage in the iron ore market, with BHP predicting further large reductions in its operating costs in the Pilbara and Rio detailing the big price discount Fortescue Metals Group has to accept for its products.

A privately owned transport group that started operations in 1996 after winning a Transperth contract to run bus services in Midland has secured a major new contract in Singapore.

The owners of two major iron ore developments in the Pilbara have flagged changes to their timetable and ownership structure respectively, as they seek to deal with the sharp fall in iron ore prices.

Mining industry groups in Perth and Canberra have come out today in favour of free markets in the iron ore industry, after Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest criticised the actions of heavywights Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

The owners of South Perth company Desktop Mapping Systems, led by managing director David Baxter, have agreed to sell the business to ASX-listed Technology One for $12 million in cash.

Most of the big law firms in Perth have shrunk in size over the past year, with Ashurst experiencing the biggest drop in staff, while only a couple of smaller firms have achieved significant growth, research by Business News has found.

Rio Tinto reaffirmed today plans to continue its brownfield iron ore expansions in the Pilbara but has noted all new mine developments are still on hold, leaving a question mark over when it will reach its 360 million tonnes per year production target.

South32 chief executive Graham Kerr says he is confident the diversified mining company will be ready to operate as an independent entity later this month, after BHP Billiton shareholders strongly endorsed the demerger.

The state government is utilising rarely used powers under the Corporations Act to take control of $1.7 billion owed to creditors of the failed Bell Group and ensure a big slice of that money is distributed to Western Australian taxpayers through the Insurance Commission of WA.

TPG Telecom has quickly won backing from iiNet after lifting its takeover offer to $9.55 per share, with cash and scrip alternatives, as it fends off a rival bid from Dodo owner M2 Group.

The state government will introduce legislation into parliament tomorrow designed to finalise the long-running Bell Group legal case, in which the Insurance Commission of WA and other creditors are fighting over a $1.7 billion payout.

GREG Evans has got off to a flying start in his new role as KPMG’s global leader of mining M&A, with one of the firm’s major clients announcing its first takeover bid last week.

Engineering firm Clough and its recently acquired US subsidiary CH.IV International have been appointed owner's engineer on the planned Magnolia LNG project in the US state of Louisiana.

CBH Group signed an interim access agreement with Brookfield Rail "under protest" late on Friday, allowing CBH to start running its rolling stock on Brookfield's rail network, but the two companies

Perth will need to build an extra 800,000 homes over the next 35 years to accommodate population growth, a new report has concluded, and nearly half of these homes will need to be in existing suburbs.

Perth home prices have ticked slightly higher in April to a median price of $520,000, which equates to an increase of just 0.3 per cent over the past year

Apartment developer Finbar Group is planning to revise its Civic Heart project in South Perth, after agreeing to purchase a neighbouring property that includes the heritage-listed Australia Post building on Mill Point Rd.

KPMG has acquired West Perth accounting and advisory practice Hayes Knight (WA), saying this will be the first of a series of acquisitions to bolster its private client practice nationally.

Perth-based contractor NRW Holdings, which is best known for its work on Pilbara iron ore projects, is the only local company in three consortiums that have been short-listed to bid for the $2 billion Forrestfield-Airport rail link.

Moore Stephens will become the 11th largest accounting firm in Western Australia after striking a merger agreement with the Perth office of UHY Haines Norton.

The federal government has contracted four groups in Western Australia to run a new support network designed to lift completion rates for apprentices, but has caused disquiet by excluding a major group-training organisation from the scheme.

The fate of Perth companies iiNet and Amcom Telecommunications rests with Sydney competitor TPG Telecom and its reclusive chairman David Teoh, and possibly with the competition watchdog, after a day of surprises.

Emeco Holdings has entered merger discussions with Queensland-based Orionstone, three weeks after the rival mining equipment supplier proposed a nil-premium merger.