PetroChina was briefly the world’s most valuable public company after its 2007 Shanghai stock debut.
When PetroChina began trading in Shanghai on November 5, 2007, its shares surged dramatically. The rise gave the company a market capitalization of roughly $1 trillion and temporarily placed it above ExxonMobil and other established giants in global rankings.
The valuation reflected intense investor demand in China’s market rather than a permanent change in the company’s operating scale. PetroChina’s share price later declined, and its market capitalization fell far below the brief debut-day level.
PetroChina is the publicly traded subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation. It should not be confused with Sinopec, another major Chinese energy company, or with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, whose listed shares also trade under the Sinopec name. The episode is remembered as the first time a company reached a trillion-dollar valuation.