Vietnam trader loses $18 billion after EV Maker shares sank
(Bloomberg) — After an astronomical rally on its first trading day, VinFast Auto Ltd. Now to the ground – erasing a large chunk of its billionaire founder’s fortune.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The Vietnamese electric car maker has fallen sharply over the past three trading days in New York, chipping away at more than half of the 255% gain it made on Tuesday when it listed on Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Chairman and founder Pham Nhat Vuong, who controls all but a handful of the company’s shares, has seen his net worth drop nearly 53% to $21 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
VinFast’s market capitalization also slumped, dropping to $37.4 billion from its peak of $85 billion, when it was briefly ahead of General Motors despite being on track to generate fewer sales this year than GM does in a week.
Large fluctuations in stock prices were expected. Vuong controls 99% of VinFast shares, mostly through his business conglomerate, Vingroup JSC. This leaves a small portion of other investors to trade, which means that even relatively small transactions can have a significant impact on the price.
However, Vuong doesn’t hurt. Since Bloomberg Index didn’t account for his stake in VinFast until the company completed its merger with the blank-check company this week, he’s still richer than he was before the listing.
On paper, he earned close to $40 billion on his first trading day – one of the biggest leaps in wealth the index has ever recorded.
— with assistance from Tom Maloney.
(Updates to reflect Friday trading)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
© 2023 Bloomberg LP
