PetroChina plans to raise funds

PetroChina Co, the world's second-largest company by market value, said it needs to raise 150 billion yuan in funds this year because tax payments may rise and cash flow has diminished.

Free cash flow declined by 76.9 billion yuan last year because of tax payments and investments, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The oil producer had negative free cash flow of 44.9 billion yuan in 2008, according to the statement.

PetroChina plans to pay as much as $1.4 billion for a stake in a Kazakh oil company, Chairman Jiang Jiemin said on April 16.