Vietnam’s steel tycoon off Forbes billionaires list

By Minh Son   December 3, 2018 | 01:12 am PT
Vietnam’s steel tycoon off Forbes billionaires list
The fall of HPG shares has dragged the HPG chairman’s net worth under the $1 billion threshold. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Tu
Tran Dinh Long, chairman of Vietnam’s leading steel manufacturer Hoa Phat is no longer on Forbes’ list of billionaires.

The Hoa Phat (HPG) stock has plummeted continuously since the beginning of the year, leading to a decline in the value of assets of one of the richest men in Vietnam.

As of Monday morning, HPG's share price stood at just over VND34,300 ($1.46), down nearly 30 percent from the peak of VND48,000 ($2.06) in early March, when Long was recognized by Forbes as a billionaire. The fall of HPG shares has dragged the chairman’s net worth under the $1 billion threshold.

Earlier this year, when Forbes announced its global billionaires list for 2018, Long was named along with three other local tycoons.

Consequently, only three Vietnamese names are left in the Three-Comma Club: Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnam’s biggest property conglomerate Vingroup, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of budget carrier VietJet Air, and Tran Ba Duong, chairman of automobile producer THACO.

Duong and Long were the two names added to Forbes’ billionaire list early this year. At the time of recognition, both had assets worth $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion respectively, and were ranked 1,339 and 1,756 respectively in the world.

Tran Dinh Long founded Hoa Phat in Hanoi in 1992. The group currently manufactures office equipment, steel pipes, construction steel and is considered the biggest steelmaker in Vietnam.

Long is one of the largest shareholders of Hoa Phat group with over 534 million shares, equivalent to more than 25 percent of its chartered capital, according to the group’s management report released mid-year.

 
 
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