Tourism grew rapidly in Tibet in the first nine months of year, thanks to a newly-opened railway and airport, local authorities said Monday.

Hong Kong has launched a bulk settlement service, allowing Hong Kong dollar credit card transactions between participating banks to be settled more efficiently, the Monetary Authority said Monday.

Oil prices fell the second straight day on Monday as traders doubted about the ability of OPEC to implement its cut plan.

The purchasing power and consumption levels of China's 143 million elderly people are on the up, a population official has said.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is on course to establish a free trade area by 2008, Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili said on Monday.

The gold price in Hong Kong went down 80 HK dollars to 5,439 HK dollars per tael on Monday, according to Bank of China (Hong Kong).

PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that China will produce 5.4 million units of automobiles this year, overtaking Germany to become the world's third largest automobile manufacturer after the United States and Japan.

Top energy officials from major oil importers the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and India met in Beijing Monday with their Chinese counterparts to explore ideas about restraining and stabilizing crude oil prices.

China will continue to tighten its control over land use with local governments being urged to make sure they do not build on any more land next year than they did this year.

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is drafting a regulation to improve the information transparency of listed companies.