PetroChina became the first Chinese company to exceed a US$1 trillion market capitalization.
PetroChina briefly surpassed the trillion-dollar threshold on its first day of trading in Shanghai on November 5, 2007. Its shares opened far above the initial offering price, giving the company an extraordinary valuation based on the market’s expectations for China’s energy demand and the importance of its parent group.
PetroChina is the publicly listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy enterprises. Its operations include oil and gas exploration, production, refining, transportation, and sales.
The valuation did not remain at that level for long. The episode is an important reminder that a market-cap record can be created by a sharp opening price and may not represent a stable long-term valuation. Alibaba later became a major Chinese technology listing, but it was not the first Chinese trillion-dollar company.