China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the country's largest oil producer, promised to lend $5 billion to the Kazakh state oil company on Friday.

The announcement came during Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit to China.

CNPC said the loan to KazMunaiGas would be used for the joint purchase of a local company, MangistauMunaiGas, a major oil developer in Kazakhstan.