The Government Accountability Office, the watchdog agency for Congress, is beginning a broad investigation into potential deficiencies in how the government collects billions of dollars in royalties from companies that produce oil and gas on federal territory, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The People's Bank of China, or the central bank, announced on Friday that it has decided to raise the deposit reserve ratio of banks, excluding rural cooperative banks and credit cooperatives, by 0.5 percentage points, starting from Nov. 15.

The gold price in Hong Kong went up 62 HK dollars to 5,676 HK dollars per tael on Thursday, according to Bank of China (Hong Kong).

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Thursday launched a local currency financing mechanism aimed at helping improve the competitiveness of Kenyan companies.

Hang Seng China Enterprises Index went up 53.74 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 7,621.93 on Thursday.

World Bank says Africa has shown tangible progress in the effort to uplift millions of people out of poverty line.

Bank Julius Baer, Switzerland's largest dedicated wealth manager, opened its operation in Hong Kong on Friday as the city remained one of the most attractive places for global bankers.

The People's Bank of China, or the central bank, announced on Friday that it has decided to raise the deposit reserve ratio of banks, excluding rural cooperative banks and credit cooperatives, by 0.5 percentage points, starting from Nov. 15.

China's commercial banks reported 67 fraud cases in the first nine months of the year, a decrease of 30 cases over the same period of 2005, Liu Mingkang, the chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has said.

The cooperation in energy technology between China and the ASEAN will contribute to rural development of Southeast Asian nations, an official with China's Ministry of Agriculture said here on Thursday.