Vietnam now has seven US-dollar billionaires after Masan Group chairman Nguyen Dang Quang fell off the Forbes billionaires list, as a sharp stock market sell-off wiped more than USD 3 billion from the combined wealth of the country's richest individuals.
Vietnamese billionaires (Photo: DT).
According to Forbes' real-time rankings updated on July 22, the combined net worth of Vietnam's seven remaining billionaires fell by about USD 3.1 billion in a single day.
Nguyen Dang Quang, chairman of Masan Group, dropped out of the global billionaire rankings late last week after his estimated net worth fell below USD 1 billion.
Shares in Masan Group, traded under the ticker MSN, declined to VND 63,900 per share. The fall was largely attributed to broader market weakness despite the company's continued solid business performance.
Amid the decline, Truong Cong Thang, chief executive of Masan Consumer, registered to purchase 2.7 million shares of MCH between July 28 and August 26. If completed, the transaction would increase his holdings to more than 6.8 million shares, representing 0.52 per cent of the company.
Among Vietnam's remaining billionaires, Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong recorded the largest decline, losing an estimated USD 2.4 billion as his net worth fell to USD 31.6 billion.
Vingroup shares (VIC) fell to their daily trading limit on July 22, closing at VND 202,000 per share.
The fortunes of Pham Thu Huong and Pham Thuy Hang, both members of Pham Nhat Vuong's family, also declined by an estimated USD 304 million and USD 213 million respectively.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, chair of Vietjet, saw her wealth fall by USD 163 million to USD 3.9 billion. Techcombank chairman Ho Hung Anh also recorded losses amounting to tens of millions of US dollars.
By contrast, VPBank chairman Ngo Chi Dung's wealth remained unchanged, while Hoa Phat Group chairman Tran Dinh Long was the only Vietnamese billionaire to post a gain, adding an estimated USD 11 million to his fortune.
Vietnam's stock market suffered a broad-based sell-off on July 22, with the benchmark VN-Index plunging more than 62 points to fall below the 1,700-point level as many large-cap shares hit their daily trading limits.
