PetroChina briefly became the first company to exceed $1 trillion in market value during China’s 2007 stock-market surge.
PetroChina is the publicly listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation and is one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies. Its businesses include exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and fuel distribution.
On its November 2007 Shanghai Stock Exchange debut, PetroChina’s shares rose sharply, producing a quoted market capitalization above $1 trillion. The valuation was short-lived because the share price quickly fell after the initial surge. Market capitalization therefore described the price investors were assigning to the listed shares at that moment, not a guaranteed cash value for the entire company.
The event is sometimes omitted from lists focused only on long-lasting milestones or companies headquartered in Western markets. It remains important because it preceded Apple’s better-known 2018 trillion-dollar milestone by more than a decade.