PetroChina briefly became the first publicly traded company valued at US$1 trillion when it listed in Shanghai in 2007.
PetroChina’s Shanghai A-share debut on November 5, 2007, produced a market value above US$1 trillion during the session. The company is the listed oil and gas subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy groups.
The valuation was notable because it preceded Apple’s widely publicized US$1 trillion milestone by more than a decade. PetroChina’s share price later fell substantially from its debut level, illustrating how market capitalization can reflect changing investor expectations rather than a permanent measure of economic size.
The company should not be confused with Sinopec, another large Chinese energy enterprise, or with Saudi Aramco, which became a record-setting listed oil company after its 2019 IPO. PetroChina remains listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong.