Vietnam's richest man could become a top 50 billionaire

By Minh Son April 12, 2021 | 08:52 pm PT

Pham Nhat Vuong (L), chairman of Vingroup, walks next to Vietnam's then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc inside automaker's VinFast factory in Hai Phong, northern Vietnam, June 14, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

The upcoming IPO of automaker VinFast could catapult Pham Nhat Vuong as the first Vietnamese to enter the rarefied bracket of the world’s top 50 richest people.

The initial public offering of conglomerate Vingroup’s unit VinFast in the U.S., expected to occur in this or next quarter as reported by Bloomberg and Reuters, could increase Vingroup chairman Vuong’s net worth by $23 billion.

If VinFast, the first fully fledged automaker in Vietnam, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a minimum valuation of $50 billion, Vuong, who directly and indirectly holds nearly 46 percent of the company, will see his net worth more than triple from the current $9 billion to $32 billion.

That figure exceeds the $30.7 billion net worth of the current 50th richest man on Forbes' 2021 billionaires list. Vuong was ranked 262nd as of Tuesday.

His net worth might rise even further with the price increase of ticker VIC of Vingroup, the biggest private conglomerate in Vietnam with interests in real estate, smartphones and automobiles.

The VIC ticker has surged 30 percent this year, and has been one of the main contributors to the benchmark VN-Index hitting new historic peaks.

Vuong has been on Forbes’ billionaire lists for nine consecutive years.