VENTURE CAPITAL POST

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.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd agreed to sell its fibre optics operations to U.S. specialty glass maker Corning Inc, exiting another non-core business to focus on shoring up underperforming key areas like smartphones.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) on Wednesday announced a $2 billion share buyback plan, its first since 2007, following investor calls for higher returns against a backdrop of rapidly declining profits.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) has secured a license to invest $3 billion to expand its production in northern Vietnam, the Vietnamese government said.

U.S. automotive parts maker Visteon Corp (VC.N) has signed a preliminary deal to sell its controlling stake in South Korea's Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp (018880.KS) to a local private equity firm for $3.6 billion, Korean media reports said.

Last month the Bank of Japan announced aggressive easing of its monetary policy and shocked the global financial markets.This led to the yen hitting fresh lows against the dollar. The weakening of the yen is believed to reverberate through the Asian markets.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (2317.TW), the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, will partner with flat-panel maker Innolux Corp (3481.TW) in investing T$86.8 billion ($2.8 billion) in a panel-producing plant in Taiwan, the firms said.