The rich make hay while others sneeze

VnExpress, a Vietnamese newswire which for the last seven years has listed Vietnam’s wealthiest people by stock market assets, placed Vingroup (VIC) chairman Pham Nhat Vuong on top of the money heap in a report released in late December, 2012. His total stock value was VND17.187 trillion ($826 million) based on 215 million VIC shares priced at VND80,000 per share on December 28, 2012.  

Vuong has been in the top position for three consecutive years. His  wife Pham Thu Huong, deputy chairwoman of Vingroup, one of the nation’s largest property developers, ranked third with total shares valued at VND2.96 trillion ($142 million), placing the couple’s wealth in the stock alone at close to $1 billion.

Ranked second between the Vuongs was Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman at Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), a firm which has its fingers in many pies. His total stock value surpassed VND5.609 trillion ($270 million) based on 260 million HAG shares on 2012’s last trading session, up VND400 billion ($19.2 million) in value against the end of 2011.

Masan Group (MSN) board member Nguyen Hoang Yen retained fourth position, possessing 21.8 million MSN shares worth VND2.220 trillion ($106 million).

Rounding out the top five was steel magnate Tran Dinh Long, chairman of Hoa Phat group (HPG), who moved up four notches from 2011 as his share value rose throughout 2012 from VND1.34 trillion ($64 million) to VND2.122 trillion ($102 million). Besides, HPG shareholders got dividends in shares two times within 2012’s fourth quarter.

Among the top 10 investors, Alphanam Investment JSC (ALP) chairman Nguyen Tuan Hai recorded the biggest gain, moving up from 53rd place in 2011. Hai’s ALP shares were valued at VND1.05 trillion ($50.4 million) tantamount to more than 60 per cent of the company’s chartered capital, up more than five times over the past year.

At the other extreme, Saigon Invest chairman Dang Thanh Tam ranked as Vietnam’s wealthiest investor in 2007, was among those whose stock wealth slipped in 2012. His total stock value fell VND500 billion ($24 million) during the year, taking him from eighth position in 2011 to 14th position in 2012.

VnExpress  derives its rankings from the reported data of more than 700 listed firms in Vietnam’s two stock exchanges. It omits several wealthy Vietnamese whose holdings are in unlisted private companies, such as Trung Nguyen Corporation founder and CEO Dang Le Nguyen Vu.