VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Global smartphone leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday confirmed expectations for its first annual profit decline since 2011, although a pickup in the fourth quarter hinted that earnings may have stabilized in the short term.

South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd plans to increase production capacity of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for TVs, seeking growth in a new technology field that its rivals have dismissed as still too expensive to succeed.

South Korean authorities have found evidence that a low-risk computer "worm" had been removed from devices connected to some nuclear plant control systems, but no harmful virus was found in reactor controls threatened by a hacker.

When Xi Jinping wanted to deliver a political message to Hong Kong as protesters demanding free elections were threatening to take to the streets, he summoned the tycoons who dominate the city’s economy.

Asian markets were set for a cautious close to 2014 on Wednesday as worries about Greece's future in the euro zone served as an excuse to take profits on popular trades.

Excelerate Energy's Texan liquefied natural gas terminal plan has become the first victim of an oil price slump threatening the economics of U.S. LNG export projects.

The main U.S. export authority is telling some oil companies that they should consider exporting a lightly processed form of crude oil called condensate without formal permission, according to people familiar with the discussions.

South Korea's nuclear power operator said on Sunday that cyberattacks on non-critical operations at the company's headquarters are continuing but the country's nuclear power plants are operating safely and are secure from attack.

"The Interview," the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, opened in more than 300 movie theaters across the United States on Christmas Day, drawing many sell-out audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression.

South Korea has indicted the chief executive officer and local subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc for violating a law governing public transport, becoming the latest jurisdiction to challenge the U.S. taxi service provider.

North Korea, at the center of a confrontation with the United States over the hacking of Sony Pictures, experienced a complete Internet outage for hours before links were restored on Tuesday, a U.S. company that monitors Internet infrastructure said.

The United States has sought help from China, Japan, South Korea and Russia in combating cyber attacks such as the one Washington on Friday accused North Korea of carrying out against Sony Pictures, U.S. officials said.

Shares in Cheil Industries Inc (028260.KS), the de facto holding company of Samsung Group, doubled on its debut on Thursday in the latest in a series of steps toward generational succession for South Korea's largest conglomerate.

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.

Talks on cutting trade tariffs on hundreds of information technology products collapsed on Friday, delaying and potentially scuppering a deal estimated to be worth $1 trillion to global trade.