CITIC Resources Holdings, China's sixth-largest oil producer by output, aims to buy oil and resource assets in Central Asia, Africa and China, China Daily reported Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted the company's chief executive Sun Xinguo as saying that CITIC Resources is eyeing "high-quality, profitable and good assets" with 4.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (about US$554.8 million) of cash on hand.

CITIC Resources is the oil and metals unit of CITIC Group, China's top financial conglomerate. It has oil assets in Kazakhstan, Indonesia and the Hainan-Yuedong Block in China.

The company posted a first-half net loss of 307.3 million Hong Kong dollars from a net profit of 520.1 million Hong Kong dollars a year earlier because of weak demand and falling prices, according to a company statement released late Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2009)