China's Communist Party unveiled legal reforms on Thursday aimed at giving judges more independence and limiting local officials' influence over courts, but it made no mention of the fate of its former domestic security chief who is under investigation for corruption.

Some of the world's biggest banks and asset managers have asked the Hong Kong securities regulator to delay a landmark China stock trading link that could generate billions of dollars of trade a day due to uncertainty over the scheme rules, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

China's M&A watchdog is getting much faster at approving both domestic and foreign deals, cutting legal costs for companies and marking a shift in the outlook of a regulator that has been a thorn in the side of bankers since its creation.

China is set to unveil key legal reforms this week that will try to limit the influence local officials have on court cases, a move being closely watched by company executives who hope it will make the legal system more impartial.

Bank of China (BoC) on Thursday sold $6.5 billion worth of contingent capital, launching a landmark wave of fundraising by China's biggest banks as they strengthen their balance sheets to meet new global bank capital rules.

Italy's biggest utility Enel on Tuesday inked a memorandum of understanding with Bank of China potentially making available up to 1 billion euros ($1.26 billion) of financing to the utility over the next five years.

China's central bank said on Sunday it will use various monetary tools to maintain adequate liquidity and reasonable growth in credit and social financing.

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, which was slapped with a record $489 million fine for corruption in China last month, said on Tuesday it was looking into allegations of corruption in the United Arab Emirates.

China and the European Union are closing in on a deal to resolve a long-running telecoms dispute by the end of the month, people close to the matter say, potentially putting an end to one of the most divisive issues between the two big trade partners.

Bright Food, China's second-largest food conglomerate, said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy a majority stake in Italian olive oil group Salov, which owns the Sagra and Filippo Berio brands.