Bank of China has been granted approval to open a branch in Brunei, the Financial Times reports. It is the first time a Chinese financial institution has established a branch in the oil-producing sultanate. Chinese investment in Brunei has been growing, with the most recent development a US$6 billion project to build an oil refinery and petrochemical plant. Bank of China's initiative comes at a time when western banks have been pulling back from Asia. Goldman Sachs has reported its worst quarterly results in four years, Reuters reports. Revenue fell 40 per cent, hit by falling commodity prices and volatile conditions in capital markets. Return on equity was just 6.4 per cent - down from 14.7 per cent a year earlier.