VENTURE CAPITAL POST

China and New Zealand are to sign a deal which will make it easier to produce television content in the two countries, enabling the South Pacific island nation to showcase its natural landscape to lure more tourists.

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd [GIC.UL] is making its first investment in New Zealand real estate by forming a joint venture with Goodman Property Trust (GMT.NZ), the pair said in a statement on Monday.

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.

Tajikistan made the greatest strides in business-friendly reforms in the past year, part of an overall trend of improving business regulations across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank said in a report released on Tuesday.

The yen languished at two-week lows against the dollar early on Friday, having come under renewed pressure overnight after an encouraging rally on Wall Street dampened demand for the safe haven currency.

Asian shares sagged on Thursday after a retreat on Wall Street and falling crude oil prices rekindled investor anxiety over slowing global growth, while a mixed picture on Chinese manufacturing failed to impress markets.

The dollar rose to new multi-year highs against the yen, euro and a basket of currencies on Monday, a three-month-old rally showing no signs of dissipating before a week of important economic set pieces.

The euro hit a 22-month low against the dollar on Thursday on the prospect of diverging monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank as rate differentials swing decisively in the greenback's favor.

Asian stocks slipped on Thursday, giving back earlier gains as initial cheer from a rebound on Wall Street fizzled out, while the New Zealand dollar hit a one-year low when the central bank governor decried the currency's recent strength.

National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) is considering the sale of its life insurance unit worth an estimated $800 million, seeking to boost earnings and returns on capital, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The U.S. dollar held near a six-year peak against the yen early on Thursday and powered to a seven-month high on its New Zealand peer, which fell after the country's central bank said its current level is "unjustified and unsustainable".

Washington, US-based software giant Microsoft acquired Wellington, New Zealand-based cloud computing firm GreenButton for an undisclosed amount to incorporate it into the Azure public cloud platform to give companies remote access to software.

Melbourne, Australia-based payments startup Aston Club took home $1.5 million in its seed funding round led by Chris Morris of Computershare to launch a mobile app that helps users pay their bar and restaurant bills.

New Zealand-based customer relationship management (CRM) software startup MyWave bagged NZ$2.5 million in an oversubscribed first funding round to develop its product and customer base before its 2015 listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.

Wellington, New Zealand-based mining firm Bathurst Resources Ltd secured A$7.39 million in a discounted placement of its shares at A$0.06 (NZD0.065) apiece to gain funds for its open-cut coal project on the Denniston Plateau.