Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras is no longer the biggest joint stock company in Latin America as it was surpassed by Mexican telecom America Movil, investment analysis provider Economatica said on Friday.

America Movil announced on Jan. 21 that it would issue stocks in order to acquire control over America Telecom, which gave it the leading position in the Latin American stock market.

According to Economatica, Petrobras' market value is currently estimated at 98.6 billion U.S. dollars, while the Mexican company's value reached 117.6 billion dollars. Another Brazilian mining giant, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), whose market value amounts to 98.4 billion dollars, comes third on the list.

Up till June 2003, Petrobras and Telmex, another Mexican telecom company controlled by tycoon Carlos Slim Helu, used to take the first place in turns in the Latin American stock market. Petrobras had been occupying the leading position since then.

In December 2006, Petrobras' market value stood at 107.7 billion dollars, while that of America Movil was 79.6 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua