Vietnam tycoon loses US$18 billion after EV maker Vinfast’s shares sink
AFTER an astronomical rise in its first day of trading, VinFast Auto is now coming back to Earth – erasing a chunk of its billionaire founder’s fortune.
The Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker has fallen sharply over the past three trading days in New York, eliminating more than half of the 255 per cent gain it notched on Tuesday (Aug 18) when it listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Chairman and founder Pham Nhat Vuong, who controls all but a few shares of the company, has seen his net worth tumble roughly 53 per cent to US$21 billion, according to the Bloomberg billionaires Index.
VinFast’s market capitalisation has also slumped, falling to US$37.4 billion from its peak of US$85 billion, when it was briefly ahead of General Motors despite being on pace to make fewer sales this year than GM does in a week.
Big share-price swings were to be expected. Vuong controls 99 per cent of VinFast’s stock, mostly through his business conglomerate, Vingroup. That leaves a small fraction for other investors to trade, meaning that even relatively small transactions can have a big impact on the price.
Still, Vuong isn’t hurting. Because Bloomberg’s index hadn’t accounted for his stake in VinFast until the company completed its merger with a blank-cheque company this week, he remains significantly richer than before the listing.
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On paper, he gained almost US$40 billion in the first trading day – one of the biggest wealth jumps ever recorded by the index. BLOOMBERG
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