HONG KONG, Nov. 5 — Superheated markets in China drove the value of PetroChina, the state oil and gas company, above $1 trillion today, giving it the highest market capitalization in corporate history and underscoring worries about a fast-growing stock bubble on the mainland.
On PetroChina’s first day of trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, it surpassed the combined capitalization of ExxonMobil and General Electric, the world’s next two most valuable companies.
PetroChina shares, which had been priced at 16.70 yuan, or $2.24, almost tripled in price in their debut on the Shanghai exchange. Shares reached a high of 48.62 yuan before closing at 43.96 yuan.
But while the stock surged on its debut in Shanghai, in Hong Kong, where the stock has been trading since 2000, it fell to less than half its value on the mainland. PetroChina’s Hong Kong-listed H shares dropped 8.1 percent, to 18 Hong Kong dollars, or $2.32. At closing prices today, PetroChina traded at 57 times earnings in Shanghai and 22 times earnings in Hong Kong.