PetroChina briefly became the world’s most valuable listed company in 2007 after its Shanghai debut.
PetroChina’s shares surged on their first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in November 2007. The rally briefly gave the company a market capitalization above $1 trillion and made it the world’s most valuable listed company by that measure at the time.
The valuation was short-lived because the stock price fell sharply after the debut-day enthusiasm. PetroChina was already listed in Hong Kong and New York, and differences among share classes, exchanges, and prices made comparisons more complicated than a simple ranking of one identical security.
PetroChina is the publicly traded arm of China National Petroleum Corporation. It operates across oil and gas exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and marketing. The episode is often cited as an example of how market capitalization can jump rapidly during a speculative period, especially when a highly anticipated listing meets strong demand.