VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) has agreed to sell its Hong Kong-based consumer finance business to a consortium that includes Pepper Australia Pty Ltd and a Chinese group, in a deal estimated between $600 million to $700 million, two people with knowledge of the deal said.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are amassing vast copper holdings in a push to capture a greater chunk of the $140 billion world market, apparently aiming to squeeze out high-cost producers just as they did in the global iron ore business.

Australia is experiencing a record-shattering boom in technology listings as start-ups starved of venture capital funding pursue backdoor listings, a trend that has regulators concerned companies are trying to take short cuts to get to market.

Australia is working on new drift modeling to expand the geographical area in which wreckage from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 may come ashore, the Australian search coordinator said on Wednesday.

Australia said on Sunday it would list state-owned health insurer Medibank Private Ltd (MPL.AX) with a market capitalization of A$5.679 billion ($4.9 billion), exceeding the top end of a range indicated in its IPO filing a month earlier.

Brazil's JBS SA (JBSS3.SA), the world's largest beef exporter, has agreed to buy Australian processed foods producer Primo Smallgoods for $1.25 billion.

Germany's top utility E.ON SE (EONGn.DE) has entered exclusive talks to sell its Spanish activities to Australian infrastructure investor Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX), four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Australia and India will push for a free trade pact, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday during a rare state visit to Canberra by an Indian leader.

Australian engineering firm UGL Ltd (UGL.AX) ended one fraught chapter and started another on Thursday as it finalised the years-long $1.1 billion sale of its DTZ property arm and revealed delays and cost blowouts at a power station project.

Australia's Transfield Services Ltd (TSE.AX), which runs the country's offshore refugee detention centers, said it won't negotiate with Spain's Ferrovial SA (FER.MC) over a $873.60 million takeover approach until it agrees not to buy its shares for three months.

General Electric Co is planning to divest stakes in its joint venture auto-financing and credit card businesses in South Korea, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the U.S. conglomerate continues to trim its exposure to the financial services sector.

Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) will help out Australian affiliate Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (CCL.AX) by taking a minority stake in a struggling Indonesian unit for $500 million.

India's Adani has appointed Morgan Stanley to advise on the possible sale of a stake in its Abbot Point coal port in Australia, as it looks to raise funds to help finance a A$7 billion ($6.2 billion) mine, rail and port project.

Australia's CSL Ltd (CSL.AX), the world's largest blood products company, said on Monday it had agreed to buy Novartis AG's (NOVN.VX) global influenza vaccine business for $275 million.

Cabcharge Australia Ltd (CAB.AX), the country's only listed taxi payment company, said it had rebuffed an approach from FleetCor Technologies Inc (FLT.N) to buy its core payments business.