PetroChina became the first company in history to briefly reach a $1 trillion market value in 2007.
PetroChina's shares surged on their first day of trading in Shanghai on November 5, 2007. The company briefly reached a market capitalization of approximately $1 trillion before falling back, making the moment a notable example of how rapidly market valuations can move.
PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China's major state-owned energy groups. Its business includes oil and gas exploration, production, refining and marketing.
The episode is sometimes confused with later, more durable trillion-dollar milestones. PetroChina's achievement was an intraday peak during a stock-market boom, while companies such as Apple later sustained much larger valuations for longer periods.