PetroChina briefly became the first company to reach a $1 trillion market value during intraday trading in 2007.
PetroChina touched approximately $1 trillion in market capitalization on November 5, 2007, its first day of trading in Shanghai after a major public offering. The share price later fell, so the company did not maintain that valuation for long.
The event occurred during a period of strong enthusiasm for Chinese equities and high oil prices. PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy groups. Its listing gave investors direct access to a portion of a strategically important oil producer.
This fact is often confused with Apple’s later milestone. PetroChina was first to touch $1 trillion intraday, whereas Apple became the first company widely credited with closing above $1 trillion in 2018. Intraday and closing records are different categories.