Business News - Business, finance, political, &amp; economic news.

24 Jan 2020

More than 80 per cent of spending on the Eliwana iron ore project has been through local contractors, Fortescue Metals Group said today, while Premier Mark McGowan announced a major approval had been fast tracked to enable the mine to be completed on schedule.

Emerald Resources

Emerald targets $75m raising

24 Jan 2020

Gold explorer Emerald Resources is seeking to raise $75 million through a share placement to develop its Okvau project in Cambodia, while also finalising a $US60 million ($A88 million) loan with Sprott Private Wealth.

Godolphin Resources

Junior explorers seeking $25m IPOs

Economic Regulation Authority

24 Jan 2020

Perth-based Castile Resources and Kaiser Reef are set to raise up to $25 million ahead of stock market listings next month, despite tough market conditions affecting a number of ASX aspirants.

$241m saving for gas users

24 Jan 2020

Domestic gas users will benefit by as much as $241 million over five years under Australian Gas Infrastructure Group’s latest pricing proposal for the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

Perkins Builders

Perkins wins airport, lithium plant works

24 Jan 2020

Perkins Builders has unveiled a pair of significant contract wins, with the Bunbury-headquartered construction group to deliver new aerobridges for Perth Airport's international terminal and non-process infrastructure for Albemarle Corporation’s $1 billion Kemerton lithium processing plant.

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Corporate Finance DealsView all

Nuheara

Nuheara gains $2.5m funding

24 Jan 2020

Wearable tech company Nuheara has secured $2.5 million from a New York-based institutional fund manager to support the commercialisation of its recently-released hearing device.

88 Energy

88 Energy to raise $5m

24 Jan 2020

88 Energy has received commitments to raise $5 million through a share placement to fund the evaluation of the company’s assets in Alaska, including the Charlie-1 appraisal well.

Godolphin Resources

Junior explorers seeking $25m IPOs

24 Jan 2020

Perth-based Castile Resources and Kaiser Reef are set to raise up to $25 million ahead of stock market listings next month, despite tough market conditions affecting a number of ASX aspirants.

Emerald Resources

Emerald targets $75m raising

24 Jan 2020

Carbine Resources

Carbine to acquire Cockatoo Iron

23 Jan 2020

Subiaco-based Carbine Resources has signed an agreement to purchase Cockatoo Iron in a scrip deal worth $12 million.

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Urbis

High-value projects populate Perth pipeline

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia

21 Jan 2020

A series of large-scale residential and commercial projects are expected to get under way in Perth this year with a development pipeline nearing $2 billion in value.

Perth rental market continues to tighten

23 Jan 2020

Rental vacancies continue to fall in Perth’s residential property market, with competition between tenants ramping-up, particularly in sought-after locations.

Bocol Constructions

Freeway to close for bridge works

21 Jan 2020

The state government has awarded Bocol Constructions and MACA a contract to raise the height of the Hay Street traffic bridge, a project that will require the closure of Mitchell Freeway for two weekends.

John Holland

John Holland wins $59m PTA contract

20 Jan 2020

John Holland has won its first substantial contract in Western Australia in several years, with the Public Transport Authority of WA awarding the Chinese-owned company a contract for track maintenance services on Perth's urban rail network.

CIMIC Group

CIMIC, Downer shares plunge

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA

23 Jan 2020

Shares in national contracting groups CIMIC and Downer have plummeted more than 20 per cent after the companies reported significant write-downs and higher costs respectively.

Politics & the EconomyView all

CCI calls for reform as Wyatt touts growth

Conservation Council of Western Australia

24 Jan 2020

Treasurer Ben Wyatt says the latest data from Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA showed positive signs for the Western Australian economy, despite CCIWA arguing for reforms to boost business and housing investment.

More funds flagged for bushfire-hit areas

AAP

21 Jan 2020

More local councils are expected to get $1 million federal government grants as the scale of bushfire damage comes to light.

Tourism Council WA

Relief packages for tourism, small businesses

Jessica Mascione AAP

20 Jan 2020

The Morrison government has announced a suite of measures to immediately support small businesses, non-profit organisations and tourism businesses affected by Australia's bushfires.

Morrison’s Kyoto conundrum

20 Jan 2020

Moves to scrap the use of carryover carbon emissions credits from the Kyoto Protocol could significantly increase the cost of Australia meeting its Paris Agreement target.

Westpac

Bushfires could deliver 0.5% hit to GDP

AAP

13 Jan 2020

The bushfire crisis will cost Australia $5 billion in direct losses and lop off 0.2 to 0.5 per cent from its economic growth, Westpac has estimated.

PropertyView all

Perkins Builders

Perkins wins airport, lithium plant works

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia

24 Jan 2020

Perth rental market continues to tighten

23 Jan 2020

Rental vacancies continue to fall in Perth’s residential property market, with competition between tenants ramping-up, particularly in sought-after locations.

JLL

Perth office vacancies falling but still high

22 Jan 2020

Perth’s office market is continuing its recovery, with vacancies falling for the fifth consecutive quarter and the city recording the second-highest office takeup of any Australian city in 2019.

Urbis

High-value projects populate Perth pipeline

21 Jan 2020

A series of large-scale residential and commercial projects are expected to get under way in Perth this year with a development pipeline nearing $2 billion in value.

Primewest

Primewest adds Mandurah shopping centre to portfolio

City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder

20 Jan 2020

ASX-listed funds manager Primewest has acquired a Woolworths-anchored shopping centre in Mandurah for $32 million, following its $33.1 million acquisition of 66 Kings Park Road.

WA Event Calendar View all

WA's most comprehensive guide to forthcoming business-related events. To list an upcoming WA event on this page, register with Scoop Online..

Aboriginal Culture in WA View all

With a history stretching back at least 50,000 years, there are many ways to explore WA’s rich and diverse indigenous heritage..

Arts & CommunityView all

Artrage

Climate protesters disrupt Fringe launch

Madeleine Stephens

17 Jan 2020

The official launch of Fringe World Festival on Thursday night was interrupted by local artists protesting the festival’s partnership with Woodside Petroleum.

Legend Media receives Chinese approval for first film

Black Swan State Theatre Company

17 Jan 2020

Local film production company Legend Media Group has gained Chinese approval for its first Australian-Chinese co-production feature film Outback Dragon, slated to start filming in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Perth later this year.

Black Swan appoints executive director

Madeleine Stephens

15 Jan 2020

Rick Heath has been named executive director at Black Swan State Theatre Company, following controversy over sudden leadership changes at the organisation last year.

Barking Gecko Theatre

Barking Gecko thrives into its 30s

Madeleine Stephens

15 Jan 2020

A strong focus on developing and sustaining corporate partnerships is one factor behind Western Australia’s oldest theatre company, Barking Gecko Theatre, notching up its 30th birthday.

WA Museum

Indigenous focus for new museum

Economic Regulation Authority

14 Jan 2020

WA’s newest cultural drawcard is set to showcase the state’s unique heritage on a world stage.

Featured PhotographsView all

Jessica Gethin, Perth Symphony Orchestra chief conductor and artistic director.

Fremantle Ports

Hadiqa Moroccan Restaurant & Bar at Hibernian Place

Meeting room and rooftop

Success & Leadership breakfast with Chris Sutherland, Programmed

Element office kitchen

The Melbourne Hotel

Conservatory

Riff powered by SpaceCubed

Riff powered by SpaceCubed

EnergyView all

$241m saving for gas users

24 Jan 2020

Domestic gas users will benefit by as much as $241 million over five years under Australian Gas Infrastructure Group’s latest pricing proposal for the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline.

Suez

Waste projects shift the dial

14 Jan 2020

Western Australia is leading the country in the adoption of waste-to-energy projects, with $1.2 billion being invested in two path-breaking facilities under construction.

Hazer Group

Seven hydrogen projects secure study funds

08 Jan 2020

Kununurra and Mandurah could be hubs for renewable hydrogen production, while the gas could be blended with natural gas already supplied through the state’s main transmission pipeline, as part of a series of projects revealed today.

Australia becomes world’s largest LNG exporter

Business News

06 Jan 2020

Australia has edged out Qatar to become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on an annualised basis, according to national consultancy Energy Quest.

ACCIONA

$511m waste project to proceed

06 Jan 2020

Construction of Western Australia’s second large scale waste-to-energy project will begin this month near Rockingham after the development consortium reached financial close just before Christmas.

Food & WineView all

Young George

Diverse offering fits the bill in Freo

Jordan Murray

20 Jan 2020

Almost 10 months after it opened, Freo.Social has expanded its range to include a dining option with the addition of Beer.Kitchen, the venue’s new 22-item dining offering launched in mid-December.

Fruit West

Plans for Bravo to go international

Business News

13 Dec 2019

The Manjimup-bred burgundy apple Bravo is closer to being sold internationally, after businesses in Europe and South Africa signed an MOU to progress plans for its commercialisation.

Mata Design Studio

Kailis senses market movement

30 Oct 2019

There’s a seismic shift happening in hospitality and Perth has an opportunity to become a culinary destination, according to George Kailis.

Chocolate artisan builds the brand

22 Oct 2019

Coolbellup-based Nakamura Chocolates is aiming to triple Western Australian sales after a successful entry into the Japanese market.

Prominent Perth restaurateur accused of extortion

Adrian Rauso AAP

07 Oct 2019

The Perth restaurateur behind The Meatball Bar chain, Gourmet Republik, and Thuggs Fried Chicken and Waffles, is accused of threatening to destroy a man's cafe and put him "in a coffin" over some fruit and vegetables.

Special ReportsView all

Corporate finance 2019

20 January 2020

The annual Business News review of corporate finance deals has identified some major shifts among key advisers and market trends.

Advisers compete on 733 deals

Mark Beyer 20 Jan 2020

Aged care 2020

13 January 2020

Large aged care players are cementing their growth strategies to meet demand and survive a turbelent time for the sector. Technology could help people live independently at home longer and improve care in residential aged care facilities.

Growth amid uncertainty

Madeleine Stephens 13 Jan 2020

Digital delivers for quality care

Madeleine Stephens 13 Jan 2020

Great for the State – Edition 10: Cultural growth

17 December 2019

Perth has come a long way since the Lonely Planet described the city as dullsville, with a thriving festivals, street art, music and events scene now creating vibrant connections with Western Australia’s history and indigenous culture.

Thriving hub of festivals, bars and street art

Dan Wilkie 17 Dec 2019

From The Triffids to Tame Impala, WA goes global

Dan Wilkie 17 Dec 2019

Architecture, planning connect with culture

Dan Wilkie 17 Dec 2019

Museum heralds new era for arts advancement

Dan Wilkie 17 Dec 2019

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Biggest employers 2019

16 December 2019

Business News' updated ranking of WA's largest employers highlights the increased use of casual and contract.

Woolies tops biggest employers

Mark Beyer 16 Dec 2019

Person of the year 2019

13 December 2019

WA’s Liberals, notably Christian Porter, have been key to the Morrison government’s performance this year. Business leaders have been developing plans that could have a big impact on the state in 2020.

Western defence delivers for feds

Matt Mckenzie 13 Dec 2019

Unfinished business in 2019 to energise leaders

Matt Mckenzie 13 Dec 2019

MiningView all

Fortescue Metals Group

Local businesses winning Eliwana work: Fortescue

24 Jan 2020

Arafura Resources

Arafura finds project management partner for Nolans

23 Jan 2020

Arafura Resources has appointed engineering and construction group KBR to manage development of its Nolans rare earths project in the Northern Territory.

Regis Resources

St Barbara slumps on downgrade

Business News

22 Jan 2020

Shares in St Barbara eased today after the company downgraded production forecasts at two of its goldmines, while fellow miner Regis Resources reported a strong quarterly result.

Legacy Iron Ore

Vote not needed for four-fold dilution

Environmental Protection Authority

22 Jan 2020

Indian state-owned corporation NMDC recently lifted its stake in local mining hopeful Legacy Iron Ore to more than 90 per cent in a deal that minor shareholders say dramatically diluted their equity, with regulators powerless to take action.

Bauxite project for northern Kimberley

21 Jan 2020

A private business has lodged documents with the environmental regulator for a new bauxite mine in the Kimberley, a project estimated to be worth around $35 million.

Current IssueView all

Issue for 20 January 2020 to 02 February 2020

Issue for 16 December 2019 to 19 January 2020

Issue for 02 December to 15 December 2019

Issue for 18 November 2019 to 01 December 2019

Issue for 04 November to 17 November 2019

OpinionView all

Mark my words podcast

Mark Pownall

24 Jan 2020

PODCAST: Mark Pownall and Dan Wilkie discuss property data, Subiaco hotel, lithium, transport infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, mining listings, graphene, and our special report on risks to WA.

Mark my words podcast

Mark Pownall

17 Jan 2020

In this podcast Mark Beyer and Mark Pownall discuss stockmarket highs, tourism buoyed, Scott Park Group, Jeanswest into administration, FMG's exploration tenement battle, and our special report on corporate finance.

Committee for Perth

Mimic success, not failure

Mark Pownall

17 Jan 2020

OPINION: From its own experience, Business News can declare the state government’s Market Led Proposals policy is a let-down.

Financial trade-off for Labor

Peter Kennedy

16 Jan 2020

OPINION: Mark McGowan and his Labor government are sitting pretty entering the final quarter of their first four-year term, with no obvious domestic issues likely to destabilise their approach to the next election in March 2021.

Young microentrepreneurs deserve our support

Gary Martin

15 Jan 2020

OPINION: Schools have a significant role to play in preparing students for the new world of work.

RetailView all

National Australia Bank

Black Friday fuels November retail surge

AAP

10 Jan 2020

November's Black Friday sales fueled a better-than-expected monthly retail turnover, but economists are wary of how much of the 0.9 per cent increase would previously have been spent during December.

City of Fremantle

Freo getting its mojo back

18 Dec 2019

There’s a sense of optimism in Fremantle amid a flurry of new venue openings, supported by a potential investment pipeline of nearly $1 billion.

Fashion Council WA

Administration, restructure planned for Fashion Festival

19 Nov 2019

The entity which ran the Perth Fashion Festival for 20 years, before operations were passed to the Fashion Council WA, has entered administration owing $819,000, with owners Mariella Harvey-Hanrahan and Tony Sage planning a deed of company arrangement.

Galati Group

Profit rockets at Spudshed

01 Nov 2019

Profit has more than tripled at one of Western Australia’s most prominent family businesses, which controls the Spudshed chain of retail stores.

Betts Group

Betts pulls on boots for recovery

31 Oct 2019

Shoe retailer Betts Group has returned to profitability after cutting nearly 130 stores in the past two years, and chief executive Danny Breckler is confident the business is now on the right path.

SkylineView all

It’s office-ial, East Perth included in Property Council’s Office Market Report

17 Jan 2020

For the first time ever, the Property Council’s February Office Market Report will capture East Perth specific information about office vacancies and performance.

Retirement village review risks alienating residents and operators

19 Dec 2019

Property Council of Australia says the State Government's retirement village review lacks transparency and is being made overly complex.

Future leader calls for attitude change

18 Dec 2019

Unapologetic property industry advocate, Urbis associate director Sean Morrison, has used his platform as Stan Perron Future Leader 2019 to call for West Australians to change their attitude to planning.

Property Council WA praises revised City of Perth population targets

05 Dec 2019

The City of Perth’s decision to more than double its residential population targets to 90,000 will help central Perth reach its potential.

Drone delivery poses new challenges for WA industrial players

13 Nov 2019

A panel of experts has told a Property Council WA event that drone delivery is closer to becoming a reality - and will require a re-think from planners.

Bulls N' BearsView all

K2fly

Gold Fields Ltd signs on for K2fly software

24 Jan 2020

K2fly has added another significant resource company to its rapidly growing, blue chip client list after West Australian miner, Gold Fields Ltd, signed on for a multi-year deal to use K2fly’s innovative software package known as “RCubed”. The contract is worth in excess of $580,000 across the initial five years and comes on the back of a total of $1.67m worth of record invoicing in the December 2019 quarter.

Legend Mining

Legend onto new target at Mawson

24 Jan 2020

Legend Mining has discovered an EM conductor lurking within shouting distance of its impressive recently announced nickel/copper/cobalt drill hole at the Mawson prospect in the Fraser Range. The latest exploration work at Mawson unearthed over 70 meters of sulphide mineralisation, including 14.9 meters with solid nickel-copper-cobalt grades. A newly modelled “off-hole” electromagnetic anomaly that points to a possible extension of the mineralised zone will now be targeted.

Lithium Australia

Lithium Australia to bank $185k for innovation

23 Jan 2020

A Federal Government co-funding grant from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre of up to $185,000 has been awarded to Lithium Australia’s subsidiary, VSPC, to assist in developing its lithium battery recycling capabilities. VSPC takes spent lithium-ion battery metals and/or mine waste and produces lithium-iron-phosphate metal oxides that can be commercialised in the rapidly growing environmentally friendly renewables space.

Neometals

Neometals ships titanium product to China

23 Jan 2020

Neometals has confirmed the technical feasibility of its Barrambie titanium-vanadium deposit located in the Murchison region of WA following successful metallurgical pilot test work. The work, that was aimed at optimising hydrometallurgical recoveries, produced a high purity “titanium hydrolysate” from the titanium processing phase. The company has now shipped samples of its new titanium bearing concentrate to potential offtake customers to evaluate.

Black Rock Mining

Black Rock nears final EPC contract for graphite mine