PetroChina is world’s first trillion dollar company

PetroChina, the Chinese oil and gas producer, has become the world’s first trillion-dollar company valued at $1 trillion (£480.38 billion). The company has now surpassed Exxon Mobil to become the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation.

Exxon Mobil is now worth less than half PetroChina. It has a value of $488 billion (£233.6 billion) on the New York Stock Exchange while Shell and BP are valued at £130.6 billion and £119.1 billion respectively.

Yesterday, PetroChina’s Class A shares nearly tripled on their debut, increasing as high as 48.62 yuan from their sale price of 16.7 yuan. The float gives mainland Chinese investors their first opportunity to own the stock.

The company has been listed since the start of the millennium in Hong Kong, where it has risen 78% this year. The company had 20.5 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves in 2006 compared with 22.1 billion for Exxon Mobil.

Over the last 3 years, PetroChina has been adding new reserves at an average rate of 5%, much quicker than Exxon Mobil, BP and Royal Dutch Shell.

Story link: PetroChina is world’s first trillion dollar company