VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Menlo Park, US-based social media giant Facebook will be kicking off its yearly Hacker Cup competition at the company's head office today with 25 participants from North America, Asia, and Europe.

Philippines-based Aboitiz Equity Ventures property unit Aboitiz Land Inc had purchased the remaining 40% of common shares from Maurbeni, Japanese trading firm, worth 360 million from LiMA Land Inc (LLI). LiMA Land is the company that owns and runs the LiMA Technology Center, the filing detailed from Philippine Stock Exchange. .

Tokyo,Japan-based Internet services firm Rakuten will launch a beta version of the Singapore-based streaming video platform Viki in Japan tomorrow, just five months after the Japanese bought the platform for $200 million.

Tokyo, Japan-based Internet services company Rakuten Inc opened its first European research and development (R&D) facility in Paris, France, which is called the Rakuten Institute of Technology.

Tokyo, Japan-based electronics giant Sony surpassed its sales target for the PlayStation 4 by selling 5.3 million units worldwide just three months after the latest game console went on sale.

Bitstamp and BTC-E paused Bitcoin withdrawal from their exchanges starting last week because of a potential glitch but have already resumed withdrawals while Mt Gox, the biggest Bitcoin exchange, still remains closed until now.

State-backed fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) entered an agreement to pick up a 20% stake in Kyoto-based robotic hand maker Squse Inc for JPY500 million ($4.9 million), according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Japanese gaming platform and web services provider DeNA invested an undisclosed amount in Between, a chat app for couples created by South Korean firm VCNC, to help the app become an open platform.

The value of digital currency Bitcoin plunged 21% to $619 from $783 after Tokyo, Japan-based exchange paused its trading because of an increase in withdrawal requests.

Tokyo, Japan-based Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox announced on its site that it temporarily halted Bitcoin withdrawals to resolve a technical problem that arose from the increased withdrawal traffic.

Tokyo, Japan-based incubator and investment firm Netprice.com Inc is planning to invest $500,000 to $4 million in three or four mobile and web startups in India this year, according to The Economic Times.

Based on data gathered by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into Seoul, South Korea, reached $6 billion in 2013, an all-time high since the global financial crisis hit in 2008.

European real estate asset manager SEB Asset Management bought ten-storey office and commercial structure Primegate, which is valued at JPY 5.5 billion (around €39 million).

Japan-based games developer Cygames, the creator of top-grossing mobile game Rage of Bahamut, invested around $680,000 (JPY70 million) in Miracle Positive, the developer of Japanese indie game Airship Q.

The latest Manulife Investor Sentiment Index for Asia showed that an improved investor sentiment in Japan and an improving view towards equities brought up the investor sentiment in the Asian region.