WARREN Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc reported that it cut its PetroChina Co stake for the fifth time after the stock gained sevenfold since the billionaire first invested in China's largest oil producer.

Berkshire sold 66.614 million shares, worth a total of HK$798.7 million (US$106 million), at an average HK$11.99 on September 21, reducing its interest in the Beijing-based company to 6.97 percent of the stock not controlled by the Chinese government, a Hong Kong stock exchange filing showed yesterday. Buffett has sold 868.36 million PetroChina shares this year, according to calculations based on stock exchange filings and Berkshire's annual report. Berkshire bought its stake for less than HK$1.70 a share in April 2003.