PetroChina was the first Asian company to exceed a $1 trillion market capitalization, in 2007.
PetroChina briefly surpassed the $1 trillion level on its first trading day in Shanghai on November 5, 2007. Its shares opened dramatically above the initial public-offering price, producing a valuation that temporarily made it one of the world’s most valuable public companies.
PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned energy group. Its business includes exploration, production, refining, chemicals, marketing, and natural-gas operations.
The 2007 valuation was short-lived, and PetroChina’s share price later declined. This episode is often confused with Apple’s 2018 milestone, which concerned the first U.S. company and the first modern company generally recognized in the technology-era sequence to reach $1 trillion.