Billionaires

The benchmark VN-Index has lost 17.5 percent since the end of March, with most blue chips hitting year lows. Tran Dinh Long, chairman of steel giant Hoa Phat, saw his net worth decline by 22 percent to $2.5 billion, mirroring the turbulence of his company’s stock. In March, the Hoa Phat share peaked at VND51,000 but then began to fall. At the close Thursday, it traded at VND37,900, down 26 percent. The net worth of three other billionaires, Vietjet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Techcombank chairman Ho Hung Anh and Masan Group chairman Nguyen Dang Quang, fell by over 10 percent or $200-400 million. Prices of their companies’ stocks, VJC of Vietjet, TCB of Techcombank and MSN of Masan, have fallen by 10-25 percent since the end of March. Vietnam’s richest person, Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of the country’s largest conglomerate, Vingroup, saw his net worth erode by 200 million, or 3 percent. Tran Ba Duong, chairman of automaker Thaco, has become $100 million poorer. Nova … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s 7 richest people lose $2 bln amid stock market plunge

Hoa Phat Group and four commercial banks of Vietnam have been named in this year’s Forbes list of the world’s 2,000 largest companies (Global 2000). Customers conduct transactions at a branch of Vietcombank in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA) In the latest ranking, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) ranks at the 950th position while Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) stands at 1,874th. This year, Hoa Phat Group is named on the list for the first time with revenues of 1.5 billion USD and market value of 8.53 billion USD. The total capitalisation of the four Vietnamese banks on the list reached 46.84 billion USD, in which the market value of Vietcombank accounted for more than 36 percent.. Forbes said that despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict, the world’s top companies still managed to boost sales and profits last year. Besides, the stock values of … [Read more...] about Hoa Phat Group, four Vietnamese banks among world’s 2,000 largest companies

Many blue-chip stocks are at attractive price ranges for investment A significant increase On May 17, Vietnam's stock market had a breakthrough session, reaching the highest point globally with the VN-Index rising by more than 56 points (+4.8 per cent) and crossing the threshold of 1200 points. All key stocks in the VN-30 group gained, in which many codes in the banking, consumer, and retail sectors grew strongly. The Masan shares of billionaire Nguyen Dang Quang increased to their limit of VND96,500 ($4.20) per share, with nearly 1.6 million units transferred. Foreign investors bought more than 500 thousand. This is a major breakthrough for the consumer-and-retail giant as other stocks have been on a downward trend over the past weeks. This is in line with the declining trend worldwide and pressure from local retail investors to sell-off. However, the demand from institutional investors for large and industry-leading stocks showed signs of strong growth. A … [Read more...] about Vietnamese stocks see world-leading growth

Last month, a short news piece became a topic of discussion for my class. The lesson was about the power of news and information, about how fake news is detected and analyzed. It turns out that my students, all young people, are feeling the brunt of the sheer amount of information they are bombarded with. Information about the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance, is an endless sea. A recent study by Oxford University revealed that around 76 percent of young people are exposed to fake news from online sources at least once a week, an increase of 50 percent from two years ago. "A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots" said Mark Twain. I think that quote is apt for our times. In the past, large platforms like Facebook played it safe; they only called themselves technological platforms that aggregate information to connect users, not media companies. That's how they avoided the troubles associated with being a publisher. The tech world … [Read more...] about Elon Musk is wrong about zero restraint free speech

"It is very wrong - casinos lack customers and want to hook youngsters? In fact many older people get hooked and later have big troubles with addiction to gambling. But need to restrict at least until 21 years old." Travel "Without considering the people that borrow money to gamble in big events (like soccer World Cup) and when they lose, they kill themselves leaving the debts to the family plus all the environment of people that develops around the casinos. Definitely not a smart move, that won't bring any good." Edwardsfinest "Gambling is a major issue here. Many families suffering because of it. Let's make is worse. In a lot of families the young ones are the money makers." Lance Coles "It's the start of a long slippery slope, gov't becomes attracted to the taxes and before long dependent on them. Australia is a case in point where Crown casino chain is too big to fail even when their behavior has been reprehensibly criminal. A vile billionaire owner who threw his staff … [Read more...] about Letting 18-year-olds into casino ‘is very wrong’

THACO Auto, owned by billionaire Tran Ba Duong, has launched a partnership with Daimler Bus which will allow it to assemble Mercedes-Benz-branded buses for the Vietnamese market and eventually begin exporting these vehicles to nearby countries. THACO organized a ceremony on May 21 to announce its strategic partnership with Daimler Bus and launch its Mercedes-Benz bus assembly plant in Chu Lai, Quang Nam Province. The company aims to expand its reach and diversify its products to meet the needs of both local and international markets. The THACO-assembled Mercedes-Benz buses include 47-seater, 24-seater VIP buses, 24-bed sleeper buses, and 22-bed VIP sleeper buses. They are all available at truck and bus showrooms nationwide. This image shows details inside a Mercedes-Benz bus. Photo : T.C. / Tuoi Tre THACO’s partnership with Mercedes-Benz has been in the works for many years. The first milestone for the partnership was hit in December 2017 when THACO and … [Read more...] about THACO launches Mercedes-Benz bus assembly operation in Vietnam