Billionaire Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao is the second richest person in Vietnam.

The Vietnamese stock market continued its surge on August 20th, setting a new record for the VN-Index and experiencing very high trading volume.

Strong selling pressure at one point pushed the VN-Index down by more than 20 points. However, the surge in blue-chip stocks helped the index recover by the end of the trading session, despite the market being dominated by red with 317 declining stocks and only 93 rising stocks (including 12 that hit the ceiling price).

At the close of trading, the VN-Index rose 10.16 points (+0.61%) to 1,664.36 points – a new historical high. Meanwhile, the HNX-Index and Upcom-Index declined.

The market is dominated by the "Vin group" stocks of billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and bank stocks.

Vingroup (VIC) shares rose 6,000 VND to 124,200 VND, while Vinhomes (VHM) increased 5,100 VND to 99,000 VND per share. These two stocks supported the stock market from the beginning to the end of the trading session.

The market witnessed a surge in banking stocks, with LPBank (LPB), VIB Bank (VIB), and VPBank (VPB) hitting their upper limits. Techcombank (TCB), Sacombank (STB), SeABank (SSB), Vietinbank (CTG), and other stocks also rose sharply.

Shares of HDBank (HDB), where Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao serves as Vice Chairman, reversed their upward trend after a previous session hitting the ceiling price and a series of strong gains.

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Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao at the inauguration ceremony of the Saigon Marina IFC Tower. Photo: VGP/Tran Manh

However, HDBank remains near its historical peak, and billionaire Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao maintains a high net worth. According to Forbes, Ms. Thao reached a new milestone with a net worth of $3.7 billion as of August 20th.

Compared to May, her net worth has increased by $1.2 billion, helping her maintain her position as the second richest person in Vietnam, behind only billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, and ranking 1,069th on the list of the world's billionaires. This surge stems from the impressive growth of the two businesses she leads: HDBank (HDB) and VietJet Airlines (VJC).

HDBank shares experienced a booming month, rising from 24,000 VND per share to over 32,000 VND per share, a gain of over 33%. Notably, during the morning session on August 19th, HDB shares reached the ceiling price of 32,500 VND (+6.56%), with a trading volume of over 34 million units.

Bank stocks surged amid reports of strong profit growth in the first half of 2025 from most credit institutions. Credit growth was very high. Several banks participating in restructuring recently had their reserve requirements reduced by 50%, including HDBank and VPBank.

HDBank also garnered high expectations from investors when billionaire businesswoman Phuong Thao appeared as the "host" at the inauguration and launch ceremony of the Saigon Marina International Financial Centre (Saigon Marina IFC). This further fueled expectations about her role in shaping an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Thao holds over 3.7% of the shares in HDB, while Sovico Group holds over 12.9%.

In addition, VietJet (VJC) shares, chaired by Ms. Thao, also recorded a strong increase, rising from 93,000 VND in mid-July to approximately 145,000 VND in mid-August, representing an increase of over 55%.

As of August 20th, according to Forbes' list, billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong remains the richest person in Vietnam with $12.7 billion, followed by Ms. Phuong Thao.

Billionaire Tran Dinh Long ranked 3rd with $2.8 billion, placing him 1,432nd in the world. Techcombank Chairman Ho Hung Anh ranked 4th with $2.7 billion, and finally, Masan Chairman Nguyen Dang Quang ranked last with $1.2 billion.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ty-phu-vietjet-nguyen-thi-phuong-thao-giau-thu-hai-viet-nam-2434215.html