Mark Pownall

Great Southern Ltd has agreed to buy 14,700 ha of plantations and 50 per cent of a Bunbury woodchip mill for almost $50 million from entities linked to Korean-based Hansol.

On Monday last week, Ric Stowe’s private Griffin Group released a statement claiming success for an experiment to reduce salinity levels at Wellington Dam.

Followers of the nickel sector are expecting further takeover activity after Swiss group Xstrata stunned the market with a $3.1 billion bid for Perth-based Jubilee Mines NL.

Mezzanine debt markets may be considered an unusual playground for a Perth-based start-up, but when you have the expertise and you want to live in Western Australia, innovation is required.

There is a lot of debate about whether the state government is doing a good enough job to manage us safely through this current boom.

Perth-based health insurance and financial services player HBF has revealed a 36 per cent increase in underlying profitability, boosted by strong investment market returns.

The Corruption and Crime Commission released its report on the controversial Canal Rocks development near Yallingup last week.

Last week’s federal environmental approval for two massive North West gas projects seemed rather low-key after the drama surrounding the pulp mill in Tasmania.

Few leading business figures could manage to look as comfortable as Peter Holmes a Court late on a Friday afternoon in the busy front bar of the Cottesloe Beach Hotel.

Shares in iron ore explorer Midwest Corporation Ltd have soared by more than 30 per cent after rival Murchison Metals Ltd made a takeover bid worth up to $986.3 million.

Motor vehicle sales in Western Australia again outpaced the rest of the states, with year-to-date growth at 10.7 per cent on the back of 90,571 new vehicle sales for the nine months ending September 30.

Should the state’s key water utility be broken up like the old Western Power was?

The Construction Mining Forestry & Energy Union’s Western Australian boss, Kevin Reynolds, said something the other day that intrigued me.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the big plans the City of Perth has and how frustrated many councillors are about any perceptions they are to blame for the current inactivity.

With just a couple of months until settlement of the sale of its heritage-listed building, the 1,100-member Western Australian Club is still seeking to confirm the location of its new home.

The musical chairs continued this week among Perth’s second-tier accountants, with the 12-partner local Bentleys MRI team switching allegiance to join the Grant Thornton network.

The musical chairs continued this week among Perth's second tier accountants, with the 12-partner local Bentleys MRI team switching allegiance to join the Grant Thornton network.

The University of Western Australia plans to build a $30 million museum to house its indigenous arts collection on Stirling Highway after ending negotiations with the state government to use the former Sunset Hospital site.

Just how important is Perth in the scheme of things?

The state government is seeking expressions of interest from tourism developers on a six-hectare piece of coastal land at Denham in the Shark Bay area.

When Coles CEO John Fletcher famously told the media that he had barely been in a supermarket for 25 years, it passed largely unnoticed that this could be a problem as he took the helm of Melbourne-based retailers Coles Myer Ltd, as it was then known.

Shareholder activist and internet publisher Stephen Mayne has nominated for the board of WA Newspapers Holdings Ltd, contesting the seat held by chairman Peter Mansell.

The rush to consolidate the minerals services sector continues unabated, with Cardno Ltd buying Buckland Engineers Australia, while Leighton Holdings Ltd negotiates to acquire Australian Mine Services Pty Ltd.

There have been many headlines in recent weeks about foreign investment in Australia, especially with so many key foreign leaders in Sydney for last week’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

Size isn’t everything when it comes to the established order in business, but Perth is making headway.

Top 15 accounting firm Pitcher Partners is on the hunt for tax practice expertise after losing two tax partners in recent months.

I’ve had quite a bit of correspondence in recent weeks with City of Perth councillors regarding the various developments in the central business district.

The sell-down of private businesses in Western Australia has continued with the Eldridge family exiting its leading analytical laboratory group, Ultra Trace Pty Ltd, in a move that further rationalises the industry.

Getting answers out of people isn’t always easy.

Booms change a lot of things in an economy, and nothing could make that clearer than the shift by the MacCormick family from a civil engineering focus to property development.

The City of Perth is looking to commit about half of an investment fund valued at up to $170 million to advance long-awaited projects which could enliven the central business district.