Petrochina Stocks Fall Following Historical Debut

Shares in China's largest oil and gas company PetroChina have dropped by 7.7 percent the day after its stock market debut on Shanghai made it the world's richest company by market capitalisation.

Trading at US$5.53 by the time of going to press, the company, which has stocks double the value of the more profitable Exxon Mobile, is fast becoming the cause of stock-market speculation.

Some analysts fear PetroChina's stock market success has been spurred on by eager Chinese investors taking their first punt at oil and gas stocks during the Chinese Stock Market bubble.

PetroChina's A-shares raised the company US$8.96bn on Monday in what has been the world's largest initial public offering.

Demand on Monday saw shares rise in price from US$2.24 to US$5.89 by market closure.

Stocks are not expected to fall below US$5.36, according to financial analysts.

PetroChina’s offer came following Q3 profit announcements spurred by a total output of 212 million barrels of crude oil production and growth in the natural gas market, with a total of 378.1 billion cubic feet.

It also follows progress in major pipeline projects including its Lanzhou-Yinchuan Gas Pipeline and the Sebei-Xining-Lanzhou Gas Pipeline.

By Penny Jones