Viet Tycoon Loses $18-B As EV Maker's Shares Sink

After an astronomical rise on its first day of trading, VinFast Auto Ltd. is now coming back to Earth — erasing a chunk of its billionaire founder’s fortune, Anders Melin reported for Bloomberg News.

Photo Insert: At $46.4 billion, VinFast’s market capitalization is still just above that of General Motors.

The Vietnamese electric vehicle maker has fallen sharply over the two most recent trading days in New York, eliminating more than half of the 255% gain it notched on Tuesday when it listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

At $46.4 billion, VinFast’s market capitalization is still just above that of General Motors.

Chairman and founder Pham Nhat Vuong, who controls all but a few shares of the company, has seen his net worth tumble roughly 40% to $26.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Big share-price swings were to be expected. Vuong controls 99% of VinFast’s stock, mostly through his business conglomerate, Vingroup JSC.

That leaves a small fraction left for other investors to trade, meaning that even relatively small transactions can have a big impact on the price. Still, Vuong isn’t hurting.

Because Bloomberg’s index hadn’t accounted for his stake in VinFast until the company this week completed its merger with a blank-check company, he remains significantly richer than before the listing.

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