PetroChina briefly became the first company to exceed a $1 trillion market capitalization on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2007.
Its Shanghai-listed shares surged on their first trading day, November 5, 2007, giving the company a valuation above $1 trillion at the market’s peak. The price later fell sharply, so the record was short-lived rather than a lasting ranking.
PetroChina is the publicly traded arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy enterprises. Its operations span exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and natural-gas distribution.
This episode is often confused with Apple’s later U.S. milestone. Apple was the first U.S. publicly traded company to reach $1 trillion, but PetroChina had already briefly passed that level on its Shanghai listing. Market-cap records based on intraday prices can be especially temporary.