Farmers in Western Australia continue to warehouse their grain to avoid AWB’s national pool, despite claims by some in the industry that such a practice is detrimental to the future of a single-desk marketing system.
There has been a considerable amount of activity in the state’s innovation sector during the past 12 months, with more WA companies investing in innovation than anywhere else in Australia, in per capita terms.
It's a great time to be in the minerals industry with net profits up 74 per cent and average mineral prices up 45 per cent from 2004-05, according to the Minerals Council of Australia 2006 Minerals Industry Survey.
West Perth-based Marine Produce Australia Ltd is set to fast track its barramundi farming expansion strategy following the aquaculture company’s raising of $4.5 million.
In a bid to bolster its position as one of Australia’s leading South Sea pearlers, Subiaco-based Arafura Pearls Holdings Ltd has made a $3 million acquisition of a pearl farm close to its existing Northern Territory operations after closing its $4 million
The federal government’s export credit agency, Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, has provided West Perth-based Equinox Minerals Ltd subsidiary, the Lumwana Project, located in Zambia, with debt financing of $US43 million.
Western Australia’s woodchip exports continue to grow, with figures revealing an increase of more than 20 per cent in the volume of exports for 2005-06, despite a fall nationally.
In a bid to accelerate the international expansion of its subsidiary Vmoto, Subiaco-based Optima Corporation Ltd is positioning itself to acquire a major player in the international scooter industry which sources product out of China.
Security in the information technology sector remains a high priority, with emerging threats targeting all manner of IT from custom web-based applications through to mobile devices.
A boom in December in initial public offers of shares, particularly among uranium explorers, is expected to lift the number of floats in calendar 2006 to a new record, says financial services provider Deloitte.
Recent murmurs of rationalisation amongst mid-tier accounting firms in Western Australia became a reality last week with the merger of the Perth offices of Horwath and BDO.
Perth-based shipbuilders, Strategic Marine Pty Ltd and Austal Ltd, have moved to further expand their international operations via the development of client bases in key overseas markets.
A state government strategy to roll out broadband infrastructure throughout Western Australia may have potential flaws that could threaten its effectiveness.
Cazaly Resources Ltd has told its annual general meeting that its controversial legal moves were simply an attempt to gain some transparency regarding the decision to terminate its application for the Shovelanna iron ore tenement.
A Bayswater satellite facility launched by global satellite technology and communications services operator, NewSat Ltd, is being pitched as a communications solution to the numerous WA-based mining companies with operations in Africa.
The growth of niche marketing opportunities in the financial services market has been a vital part of ThinkSmart’s growth in Australia and Europe, and targeting of other overseas markets.
Brazil has emerged as a gold region of note for some Western Australian mining juniors, including recently listed Mundo Minerals Ltd and Troy Resources NL.
Maritime security remains a key issue for Australian ports, with Western Australia leading the country in the processing of applications for the Maritime Security Identification Card despite reports nationally of a slow take up in the scheme.
