Matt Mckenzie

SPECIAL REPORT: A diverse group of successful wealth management businesses in Perth have good stories to tell in a market likely to face increasing uncertainty.

A new report has cast doubt on Western Australia's suitability as a lithium battery-making hub, claiming low labour productivity, distance from major markets and difficulties sourcing the necessary material as barriers to any potential development.

Seven of WA’s most prominent agribusinesses have grown their revenue by about 30 per cent, with increased demand from Asia the main driver.

A national study by Infrastructure Australia has found that Perth residents are among those least likely to use public transport for their daily work commute, despite good accessibility in outer suburbs and subsidies covering about 70 per cent of the cost of a trip.

Fremantle-based seafood wholesaler and jewellery manufacturer MG Kailis Group has achieved its second consecutive year of profits, after a decade of losses, despite a 14 per cent fall in revenue.

Dredging a second channel into Garden Island and major road upgrades could be priorities in a Henderson precinct master plan to be drafted by the state government in 2019, while Defence Minister Chris Pyne today announced a new $200 million vessel will be built at the yards.

A sluggish approvals process for seismic work at the Xanadu prospect in the Perth Basin has led Whitebark Energy to sell its stake in the project in a $5 million deal, with the money to head to Canada instead.

Government and business must involve trade unions to develop plans to train Australia’s workforce for the increased presence of automation, according to Siemens Australia chief executive Jeff Connolly.

Gas is flowing at Woodside Petroleum’s Greater Western Flank-2 project, an extension of the North West Shelf Venture, with the company saying costs came in 30 per cent under budget.

Global technology company Cisco is changing the way it operates in Asia and is positive about opportunities in Australia, its regional president told a Business News breakfast today.

Perth does not need to over emphasise economic diversification to revitalise the local economy, but rather embrace its competitive advantages, according to a report released by the Committee for Perth today.

Australian investors’ appetite for risk in the technology sector has attracted an increasing number of Israeli companies to the local exchange.

SPECIAL REPORT: The state’s agriculture sector has been ruffled by falling exports and revenues, coupled with growing animal welfare concerns and international competition.

SPECIAL REPORT: Acquisitions and pricing discounts are shaking up the rankings of WA’s main iron ore exporters.

SPECIAL REPORT: Gold Corporation, Alcoa, Roy Hill and Chevron have all posted higher revenue numbers in Business News’ annual analysis of WA’s biggest exporters.

Woodside Petroleum has signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese gas company ENN, while it is continuing work on the Scarborough, Browse and Pluto projects.

Strike Energy will extend its position in the Perth Basin, announcing it will acquire UIL Energy in a deal valued at around $16 million.

Alinta has received regulatory approval to build a transmission line linking the Roy Hill mine to Fortescue’s Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek mines, a move that would enable the iron ore miner to continue its shift away from diesel power.

SPECIAL REPORT: Western Australia is a place best known for what it does below ground level, but entrepreneur Chris Hill believes we should look to the stars for the state’s next big opportunity.

Former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop says it’s too early to speculate if she’d run for the Liberal leadership after the next election, but she believes the party needs to do more to recruit women and keep a broad base of talent, speaking at today’s Success & Leadership breakfast.

Pacific Energy has been awarded a contract to install additional generation capacity at St Barbara's Gwalia gold mine as part of an expansion project.

A Curtin University team has developed an improved, cleaner, technique to turn the sun’s energy into hydrogen, amid increasing industry interest in the opportunities.

Stedman Ellis has been picked as interim chief executive for the proposed Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre to be headquartered in Western Australia, and will leave oil and gas lobbyists APPEA on Friday.

A deal between manufacturing business Best Bar and tech hopeful Buildsort serves to highlight recent activity in Perth’s blockchain space.

Woodside Petroleum has picked Texas-based Bechtel as the most likely contractor to build a new LNG train at its Pluto facility near Karratha, but has hit a hurdle in approvals for an associated fly-in fly-out camp.

Effective coders and developers are in such high demand in Perth that one local entrepreneur has inverted the conventional hiring process.

Tighter lending conditions likely after the banking royal commission will be a hurdle for business brokers who are seeing a slow improvement in their market.

West Perth-based oil hopeful Norwest Energy has said a delay in regulatory approvals has pushed back the targeted start of a seismic survey at its Xanadu prospect in the Perth Basin until at least March 2019.

PCF Capital founder Liam Twigger has revealed plans to raise up to $350 million for a cryptocurrency token that will back a new investment fund for gold mining juniors, in what would be the most significant Australian blockchain-related deal to date.

A retail deal with Priceline Pharmacy is the latest win for local makeup business The Quick Flick, which was launched last year by Perth university student turned entrepreneur Iris Smit.

Growing investment in rooftop bars across Perth reflects a need to offer a point of difference in what has been a tough market, publicans say.

Gold Corporation chairman Don Mackay-Coghill has launched a broadside against the loose monetary policy of central banks in the past decade, warning it has inflated a big bubble.