PetroChina became the first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion after its 2007 share offering in Shanghai.
PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy groups. Its shares surged on the first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, briefly producing a market capitalization above $1 trillion in U.S. dollar terms.
The valuation was extraordinary but short-lived. The stock price later fell substantially, and the company did not remain near that level. This makes PetroChina an important example of the difference between reaching a market-cap milestone briefly and maintaining that valuation over time.
The episode also shows why market-cap comparisons across countries require care. Exchange rates, share classes, state ownership, free-float percentages, and rapidly changing stock prices can all affect how a company’s apparent value is calculated.