Steel tycoon becomes Vietnam's 2nd richest person as share price soars

By Nguyen Quy April 18, 2021 | 08:17 pm PT

Tran Dinh Long, chairman of Hoa Phat Group, pictured during an interview in March 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Tu.

Tran Dinh Long, chairman of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group, has overtaken Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of Vietjet Air, to become the second richest person in Vietnam.

As of Monday his net worth was $2.7 billion, according to U.S. magazine Forbes, as his company’s stock, HPG, has been rising to new highs.

On Friday, it closed at VND54,600 ($2.36).

Thao has a net worth of $2.6 billion, and was the country's second richest behind Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of conglomerate Vingroup, who has a net worth of $9.7 billion.

Long, who entered the Forbes list of world’s richest people for the first time in 2018, is one of the largest shareholders in his company with over 700 million shares, equivalent to a more than 25 percent stake.

Hoa Phat is now the biggest steel maker in Vietnam, making pipes and construction steel, besides making office equipment.