PetroChina briefly became the first Asian company valued at $1 trillion in 2007.
PetroChina reached the landmark market capitalization on November 5, 2007, its first trading day in Shanghai after a major public offering. Its shares surged dramatically, making the Chinese oil company the first Asian-listed business to touch a trillion-dollar valuation.
The achievement was short-lived. PetroChina’s share price later fell substantially, and the company did not retain that ranking. The episode also highlighted an important market-cap issue: PetroChina had a large total equity value, but only part of its shares were freely traded by the public. A company’s market capitalization includes outstanding shares, while the freely tradable portion is called its public float.
PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation and remains one of China’s major energy companies.