PetroChina was the first company headquartered in China to reach a US$1 trillion market capitalization.
PetroChina briefly reached a market value of about US$1 trillion on November 5, 2007, during its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its shares rose dramatically on the first day of trading, making the company the world’s second-largest by market value at that moment, behind ExxonMobil.
PetroChina is the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corporation and operates across oil and natural gas exploration, production, refining, transportation, and sales. Its listing followed a smaller offering of shares to public investors while the Chinese state retained control through the parent company.
The milestone is often confused with the value of the entire China National Petroleum Corporation group or with PetroChina’s later market value. A company’s market capitalization can change rapidly after an initial public offering, especially when a relatively limited portion of its shares is freely traded. PetroChina’s first-day surge did not establish a permanently stable one-trillion-dollar valuation.