Vietnam’s 7 richest people lose $2 bln amid stock market plunge

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 Group chairman Bui Thanh Nhon, who first appeared on the list this year, was relatively unscathed since the price of his company’s stock has only fallen marginally.