China's state news agency has sought to dampen hopes of a major stimulus package to boost the slowing economy following days of market speculation.

Xinhua said in an online report that China's top planning agency National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had denied "false reports" it would repeat the huge spending drive it launched in late 2008.

"The NDRC held a media briefing to clarify false reports that there would a new round of stimuli, a version 2.0 of the four trillion yuan package," said the Tuesday report, which appeared only on the agency's weibo, or microblog.

Beijing responded swiftly to the global recession, unleashing a four-trillion-yuan (586-billion-dollar) stimulus package in late 2008 and ordering state-owned banks to boost lending to spur economic activity.

The move returned the economy to double-digit growth, but also led to raised inflation and concerns about an explosion in bad debts.

China's growth fell to 8.1 percent in the first quarter of this year from 9.2 percent in 2011 as a whole, as woes in key export markets such as Europe and the United States hit its overseas sales.

The government this month cut banks' required reserve ratio, freeing up funds they can lend to clients, after unexpectedly low figures for April, with exports up just 4.9 percent year on year and imports virtually flat from a year earlier.

On Monday, the China Business News daily reported that the NDRC wanted to speed up approvals of altogether 130 billion yuan of projects in the steel and transport industries to boost the economy.

"They're focusing on growth but the government seems quite insistent in its branding of this new expansionary policy," said Andrew Polk, a Beijing-based China economist with the Conference Board, a private research group.

"They want people to realise that this is not the big bang policy they had a couple of years ago."

'Martian Pink' diamond fetches $17m in Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AFP) May 30, 2012 - The "Martian Pink" diamond fetched $17.4 million at auction in Hong Kong this week when it went on sale for the first time in 36 years, more than double the estimated price.

Billed as the "largest round fancy intense pink diamond" ever to come up for auction, the stunning gem was the highlight of a Christies' jewellery auction that raised $80 million on Tuesday, the auction house said.

"Having appeared on the market for the first time in 36 years, The Martian Pink sold by Harry Winston in 1976 created a sensation during its worldwide exhibition tour and achieved a staggering US$17.4m after a 10-minute bidding war," said Vickie Sek of Christie's Asia.

The diamond was bought by an anonymous buyer, the auction house said.

"The US$80m auction was highlighted with top prices across the board, culminating in a world record price of US$551,000 per carat for a perfect Burmese ruby of 6.04 carats," Sek said.

Hong Kong has emerged as the world's third biggest auction centre after New York and London, thanks largely to the growing luxury market in mainland China.