Colombia’s state-controlled oil and gas giant Ecopetrol this week eclipsed Brazil’s Petrobras on the New York Stock Exchange.
Ecopetrol’s market capitalization increased to $129.95 billion on the NYSE, overtaking Petrobras, currently valued at $121.87 billion.
The 25% increase in value of Ecopetrol pushed the company past Petrobras after the state-governed Brazilian energy company lost nearly 40% of its value over the same period, according to NASDAQ’s official website.
Brazil President Dilma Rousseff’s caps on oil prices and nationalist policy stance toward Petrobras have interrupted its expected ascent after high potential finds in deep waters off the coast of Brazil in 2007.
Yet Ecopetrol’s market value doesn’t tell the whole story. Earnings in the third quarter of 2012 were disappointing, with profits falling 22%.
MORE: Ecopetrol Q3 profits drop 22%
“This is more of a market perception rather than a fundamental value driver, but it pushed the share price up,” an analyst told the Financial Times.
The Colombian government owns an 80% stake in Ecopetrol. Five years ago the company issued 11.5% of the remaining 20% on the NYSE and Colombia’s public stock market.