VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Russian telecoms group Vimpelcom (VIP.O) is in talks with Asia's Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK) about merging their mobile phone businesses in Italy as a joint venture, Vimpelcom Chief Executive Jean-Yves Charlier said on Wednesday.

Li Ka-shing's hectic start to 2015 has meant record Asia M&A, loan and equity deals so far this month - good news for investment bankers close to the 86-year-old Hong Kong tycoon's empire.

Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd, backed by Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, has bought Britain's Eversholt Rail for an enterprise value of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.8 billion), the latest in a string of Asian buyers targeting European assets.

Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd (CKI), backed by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, plans to raise up to $521 million in a Hong Kong share offering to fund its investment in Britain's Eversholt Rail, IFR reported late on Tuesday, citing a term sheet of the transaction.

Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd (0001.HK), owned by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, said it had agreed to buy stakes worth $2.02 billion in about 60 aircraft as part of the property firm's push into airplane leasing.

Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, aims to buy his way into the global aircraft leasing business as his flagship investment firm holds talks with lessors on building a portfolio of planes, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Citing sources, The Wall Street Journal reported that Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings was in advanced discussions for a "strategic" stake acquisition of Li ka-shing's health and beauty retailer Watson.

San Francisco, US-based startup studio Expa, which was created by Uber founder Garrett Camp, raised $50 million in funding from big-time investors to provide seed funding for startups.

Li Ka-Shing, the richest man in Asia, led a $23-million investment round in Silicon Valley, US-based synthetic egg startup Hampton Creek which is preparing to conquer the Asian market.

China-focused private equity group Boyu Capital is set to close $1.5-billion for its second buyout fund within a few weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.

Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Asia, has just invested an undisclosed amount in BitPay, a US-based startup that provides services similar to a PayPal for bitcoins.

Hutchison Whampoa, a conglomerate controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing has picked Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and HSBC to manage the proposed listing of A.S. Watson in Hong Kong and London.

Power Assets Holdings Ltd. will spin off its subsidiary Hongkong Electric Company Ltd. to HK Electric Investments, a single-investment trust. Power Assets was said to be aiming for a HK Electric Investments listing early next year to raise $5.7 billion.

Just months after pulling out of a planned multi-billion dollar sale of his grocery chain, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing has started the process for Waston's initial public offering. The global retail business is set to float next year.

Leung Chun-ying and the government of Hong Kong would be pressured to maintain its consistent positive economic growth amidst a property bubble at home and changes in foreign economic policies.