PetroChina briefly became the first publicly traded company valued above $500 billion in 2007.
PetroChina reached a market capitalization above $500 billion after its Shanghai listing in November 2007. Its shares surged on the first day of trading, producing a valuation that briefly ranked it among the largest companies ever measured by market value.
PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy groups. Its business includes exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and fuel marketing.
The valuation was short-lived because the share price fell sharply after the initial market enthusiasm. PetroChina is sometimes confused with Saudi Aramco in trillion-dollar milestone discussions: PetroChina’s famous event occurred in 2007, while Saudi Aramco’s major public listing took place in 2019.