FACTBOX-Venezuela turns up the heat on private sector

June 16 (Reuters) - Six Japanese companies are pulling out of an aluminum plant after a long dispute with their partner in the venture, the Venezuelan government.

President Hugo Chavez has increased pressure on the private sector through nationalizations and by exerting authority over companies. The government has banned Coca-Cola Co's Coke Zero.

Here are some of the actions Chavez has taken against businesses in the oil-rich country.

OIL

In 2007, Chavez's government took a majority stake in four oil projects, worth an estimated $30 billion, that were operating in the Orinoco river basin. U.S. companies Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) quit the country over the action and filed arbitration claims against Venezuela. France's Total SA (TOTF.PA) and Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL) received around $1 billion in compensation after reducing their holdings.

In recent weeks, Chavez seized a gas injection project belonging to Williams Companies (WMB.N), installations owned by Exterran (EXH.N) and assets from local service companies.

Under a proposed law currently with legislators, several international chemical companies would likely have to reduce their participation in Venezuelan factories.

BASIC INDUSTRIES

The government paid $2 billion this year for Argentine-led Ternium's (TX.N) stake in Venezuela's largest steel mill. Last year, Chavez ordered nationalization of the cement industry, affecting Mexico's Cemex (CX.N), Switzerland's Holcim HOLN.VXi and France's Lafarge (LAFP.PA). This year, Chavez ordered the takeover of several iron smelters.

Six Japanese companies, which together hold a 20 percent stake in Venalum, announced last week that they were pulling out of the smelter after a long dispute with the government over costs and delays in shipments. The government said on Tuesday that it planned to buy the shares belonging to Showa Denko (4004.T), Kobe Steel (5406.T), Sumitomo Chemical (4005.T) Mitsubishi Materials (5711.T), Mitsubishi Aluminum and Marubeni (8002.T).

FOOD AND FARMING

In 2005, Chavez began implementing a 2001 law that lets the state expropriate unproductive farmland or seize farms without proper titles. He redistributed land deemed idle in an effort to boost food production and ease rural poverty. In March, Chavez seized a eucalyptus plantation owned by Irish cardboard company Smurfit Kappa (SKG.I) (SKG.L). The government also seized two factories owned by U.S. food company Cargill and threatened to nationalize food and beer-maker Polar, Venezuela's largest employer. Last week, the health ministry banned Coca-Cola's (KO.N) Coke Zero over claims that the soft drink included a sodium cyclamate artificial sweetener.

MINING

Many basic metals companies have long been government controlled, but Chavez wants to increase control over gold mining. Venezuela has large, mostly undeveloped gold deposits.

In May, the mining ministry ended two concessions at Gold Reserve's (GRZ.TO) Brisas project, making it difficult for the U.S.-based miner to develop one of Latin America's largest gold veins. Chavez has expressed his wish that Brisas and another project, Las Cristinas, be exploited by a government joint venture with Russian companies.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

In 2007, the Chavez government nationalized Venezuela's largest telecommunications company, CANTV, buying out U.S.-based Verizon Communications' VZ.Ni 28.5 percent stake for $572 million. Analysts said Verizon received fair compensation for its assets. (Compiled by Caracas Newsroom; Editing by Toni Reinhold)