PetroChina briefly became the first company to reach a $1 trillion market value on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
On November 5, 2007, PetroChina’s Shanghai-listed shares surged on their first trading day, briefly giving the company a market capitalization of about $1 trillion. The valuation made PetroChina the world’s most valuable company for a short period during that session.
PetroChina is the publicly traded arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, one of China’s major state-owned energy groups. The dramatic debut occurred during a period of strong enthusiasm for Chinese equities and rising commodity prices.
The company’s brief ranking did not last. Its share price fell substantially after the debut, and the market value calculated from its Shanghai shares was not always directly comparable with valuations based on other share classes. The episode remains an important early example of how listings and market sentiment can create extraordinary short-term market-cap rankings.