The People's Bank of China said Friday it will boost the reserve requirement ratio of domestic banks by 50 basis points effective from November 15, AP reported. It is the third such hike of the year, taking the amount that most Chinese banks must keep on deposit with the central bank to 9% of their deposits.The ratio was last raised by a similar amount to 8.5% on July. The government has also raised interest rates twice in an effort to slow borrowing. The order surprised economists, who had expected the government to wait longer to see whether controls imposed earlier were doing enough to slow the economy, the agency reported, adding that economists did not expect further moves this year. The benchmark Shanghai composite index fell 0.71% on opening Monday to 1,853.186 points, compared with Friday's five-year closing high of 1,866.362, in response to the move.
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