Staff Reporters

THE Pilbara region will be put on show to national and international investors at the 2002 Pilbara Natural Advantages Conference, to be held on September 2 and 3.

PERPETUAL Investments has adopted what it says is a “unique” approach to managing its Industrial Share Fund, one of Australia’s most popular managed funds.

ENERGY industry giant BP, which has not missed out on a share of business from China’s first gas processing venture in Guangdong province, now also looks a likely winner for an upcoming project in the Fujian province.

ONE of WA’s top indigenous designers had an opportunity to showcase her clothes for a Malaysian fashion magazine last week.

Goldfields-Esperance regionArea: 771,276 sq kmGDP 1990/00 (est): $4.7 billionGDP per capita: $80,443Population (2000): 58,926Per cent of total State pop: 3.1 per centPop growth rate: 1.3 per cent/annumLargest centre: Kalgoorlie/Boulder: 32,0

SHARE markets have started the financial year on shaky ground, with negative returns the order of the day last month. Only the Australian unlisted property sector succeeded in keeping its head above water.

REVENUE from the North-West Shelf joint venture deal to supply three million tonnes a year for 25 years to LNG China’s pilot Guangdong LNG project is not expected before 2006.

A SUSTAINABLE and secure future is central to the Designing Futures symposium in Perth this week.

THE brand is king, at least this is the message from the world’s most powerful companies.

UNLISTED WA environmental technology operation Occtech Engineering has reached an agreement to merge with the recently listed, but troubled, public company QED Corporation Limited.

UNLISTED WA environmental technology operation Occtech Engineering has reached an agreement to merge with the recently listed, but troubled, public company QED Corporation Limited.

AN investigation of the WA venture capital industry by WA Business News has found that, while Australia boasts about 60 venture capital players, only two are based in Perth.

THE Perth office of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association will be re-jigged at the end of this month.

David Pike has started the search through his wardrobe to find his best ‘wine-drinking clobber’ in preparation for the State’s wine show and tastings circuit.

The amount raised in the tax-effective investment sector has fallen for the third year, to about $300 million from a high of $1.5 billion in 1999. Gary Kleyn and Mark Beyer report on the latest developments.

Clearly, in WA, the Labor party holds sway in that department, particularly with at least two years to go before election time comes around again.

LARGELY, this is a political zone, although some private consultants only play a small role in influencing government.

SORRENTO’S Plum Restaurant will undergo renovations in the coming months meaning that, by September, patrons will be able to sit out in the sun.

THIS is an eclectic mix of businesspeople. Some such as Manny Papadoulis and Michael Monaghan are at the top of their fields and wield influence in the interest of their businesses and industries.

IPT Systems Ltd’s wholly owned subsidiary, Synergy Business Solutions, has executed a contract to provide electronic purchase order delivery services for J Blackwood and Son Ltd, a division of the Wesfarmers Group.

BARELY a year into the job and Labor state secretary Bill Johnston is being highly rated for his ability to open doors to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.Note his predecessor, John Halden, now ranks highly as an adviser.

TELSTRA should not be privatised until such time as it delivers a satisfactory communications service to metropolitan business.

THE importance of this list largely lies not with their impact on the Federal sphere but the factional leadership they offer in the State scene.

Iron ore to ChinaMOUNT Gibson Iron Limited and the Geraldton Port Authority have signed a contract to export 1.5 million tonnes of iron ore from the Geraldton Port to China.

State politicians rule our world

RETAILING has always been important in WA but as the world becomes a village, it is worth noting those that remain highly regarded in this arena.

STATE Development Minster Clive Brown has presented three WA firms with awards recognising their innovation in the information and communications technology sector.

IT is hard not to order this group in terms of the budgets they control, particularly when long serving under treasurer John Langoulant sits atop State Government finances. But it is not always that simple.

ADVERTISING agency 303 is leaving its Northbridge headquarters for the advertising belt of Subiaco. It will be setting up shop at 1 Outridge Crescent.The firm has been operating out of the old Fitzgerald Hotel for the past seven years.

LIKE most other areas, business influence is not always cut and dried. However, starting with the heads of WA’s two biggest companies – according to the latest WA Business News Book of Lists – seems appropriate.

PERTH City Council last week approved a $79.6 million budget for the 2002-03 year, an increase of about $4 million spent on the previous financial year.

WA business confidence dipped in June but remains near five-year highs, according to CCI-BankWest Survey of Business Expectations.