In a newly published article, Forbes magazine said billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, Vietnam's richest man, has joined the ranks of Asia's richest people after shares of his electric car maker VinFast surged 255% when the company debuted on the Nasdaq, adding $39 billion to his net worth.
At the same time, Mr. Vuong is also the 16th richest person in the world, right after billionaire Amancio Ortega, co-founder of Inditex, owner of the Zara fashion chain.
According to Forbes, Vietnam's richest billionaire became the 16th richest person in the world and the 5th richest in Asia when VinFast skyrocketed on the day of its stock listing on Nasdaq. Source: Forbes
The stock more than tripled to close at $37.06 on its first day of trading, from an intraday high of $38.77. The strong market debut lifted the net worth of Mr. Vuong, VinFast’s controlling shareholder, to $44.5 billion.
According to Forbes, Mr. Vuong, who is also the chairman of parent company Vingroup, is currently the fifth richest person in Asia. Mr. Vuong’s other interests include real estate, retail, consumer electronics and health care through Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate by market value.
VinFast began trading in New York on Tuesday by merging with Black Spade Acquisition Co., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) founded by casino billionaire Lawrence Ho. The deal initially valued VinFast at $23 billion.
Forbes estimates the company's market value has quadrupled to $85 billion, surpassing General Motors' $46 billion and Ford's $48 billion, and behind electric car giant Tesla's $739 billion market cap and Chinese rival BYD's $93 billion.
VinFast can produce up to 300,000 cars a year from its manufacturing facility in the port city of Hai Phong, about 75 miles east of Hanoi. The company began shipping its cars to the U.S. in November to directly challenge Tesla in its home market. Shipments to Canada and Europe are expected later this year.
VinFast is building a factory in North Carolina that could produce about 150,000 cars a year by 2025.
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