China Investment Corp, the nation's US$300-billion sovereign wealth fund, has paid US$939 million for a stake in a Kazakhstan oil and gas producer that holds the world's ninth-largest proven reserves.

The deal is the latest in a string of CIC's purchases in the resources and commodities sector, underscoring a shift of focus for the fund that suffered losses from Wall Street investments amid the financial crisis.

CIC, through its subsidiary Fullbloom Investment Corp, said it bought about 11 percent of JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration Production's global depositary receipts.

The transaction, which began in July, has cleared all registration and regulatory hurdles, Beijing-based CIC announced yesterday.

Last week, CIC said it bought US$1.9 billion of debt from PT Bumi Resources, Indonesia's biggest thermal coal producer, and agreed to buy a 15-percent stake in Hong Kong-based commodities supplier Noble Group Plc for US$850 million.

The Kazakh company's shares are listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, and its global depositary receipts are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

JSC KazMunaiGas is the second-biggest oil producer in Kazakhstan. The company's proven and probable oil reserves were put at 1.78 billion barrels at the end of 2008, with reserves of 25 years at 2008 production levels.