VENTURE CAPITAL POST

South Africa plans to import 5 million tonnes of white corn from South America as the worst drought since 1992 continue to ravage the area, according to Grain SA, the biggest producers association in the country.

As part of its business expansion drive, craft beer maker BrewDog is raising funds through Crowdcube, which is UK's biggest crowdfunding platform. The Scottish BrewDog will raise GBP 25million though two crowdfunding routes by next April.

The UN FAO reported low food price index - the lowest in six years. If the situation persists, the price drop will be welcomed by consumers globally, which is also beneficial for poor countries. But the plentiful supplies of these products may also have a negative impact for farmers with prices not enough to cover for production costs.

China's economy is expected to grow at 7.0 percent this year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday. Speaking at the headquarters of the United Nations' Latin American arm ECLAC in Chilean capital Santiago, Li said that data in April and May data showed the Chinese economy had maintained momentum.

Detroit's automakers, on track for their best sales year since 2006, may want to brace themselves for rockier times ahead.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) reported a first-quarter profit that was less than analysts expected, selling fewer vehicles in North America as it worked to increase production of the redesigned F-150 pickup truck, and losing money in South America.

Investigators at German financial watchdog Bafin have not discovered any signs of systemic efforts to manipulate currency benchmarks, rather, only individual efforts, banking supervisory head Raimund Roeseler said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday.

General Motors Co President Dan Ammann on Monday said he expects "more of the same" next year from a U.S. auto market that has been growing slowly, while he is bracing for continued soft demand in other parts of the globe.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) expects North American sales will rise to 3.5 million vehicles by 2020 from 2.9 million in 2013, executives said at an analyst briefing on Monday at company headquarters.

Rocket Internet's Lamudi has received USD7 million funding from Tengelmann Ventures and other new investors left undisclosed, reported TechCrunch.

San Francisco, US-based mobile app performance startup Crittercism took home $30 million in a funding round led by Scale Venture Partners for its expansion and enterprise initiatives.

Ireland-based same-day hotel booking startup Hot Hotels bagged $1 million (€730,000) in funding from private investors and accelerator funds to fuel its expansion into Europe and South America.

San Francisco, US-based venture capital firm Rise Capital is set to raise $146 million to back startups in Africa, South America, and other emerging markets.

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.

US-based professional technical services provider Jacobs Engineering Group Inc announced the completion of its merger with Australia-based firm Sinclair Knight Merz in a deal valued at AU$1.3 billion.