Vietnamese carmaker VinFast drops for fourth straight session after peak on Nasdaq

VinFast's VFS shares on the Nasdaq declined for a fourth consecutive session on Friday to $29.5 per share after hitting their peak at $82.35 on August 28.

The stock closed at $34.71 per share on Thursday, $41.27 on Wednesday, $46.25 on Tuesday, and $82.35 on Monday - a record high since its Nasdaq debut on August 15 ($37.06).

Nearly 7.35 million shares changed hands on Friday, up from over 6.5 million in the previous day.

The Vietnamese electric vehicle startup's market capitalization has reached nearly $68.49 billion, dropping to the sixth position among world's top car manufacturing companies. The figures for Tesla and Toyota were $777.66 billion and $233.48 billion, respectively.

On the Forbes billionaires list, Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vingroup, now has a total asset of $5.9 billion, ranking 460th in the world.

Currently, out of the 2.3 billion VinFast (VFS) shares, only 4.5 million can be traded. Regulatory filings in the U.S. show Vietnamese tycoon Vuong directly and indirectly controls 99% of VinFast’s outstanding shares, mostly through his conglomerate Vingroup.

VinFast’s public listing followed the completion of a deal with Black Spade Acquisition, a SPAC. SPACs are shell companies that raise capital in an initial public offering (IPO) and use the cash to merge with a private company in order to take it public, usually within two years.

The company had delivered almost 19,000 EVs including the VF e34, VF 5, VF 8, and VF 9 models to the U.S. market as of June 30, 2023. It is also preparing for the upcoming launch of the VF 3, VF 6, and VF 7 models in the Vietnamese and global markets.

VinFast is looking forward to building upon its rapid expansion as the company rolls out next-generation EVs and solutions, and carries out its strategy of expanding its footprint globally.

It has established a strong foothold in its Vietnamese home market by rolling out its own charging network spanning across 63 cities and provinces, and plans to expand it further in the coming years. VinFast has also established a company-owned retail and service network of over 122 VinFast stores worldwide.

VinFast, part of Vietnamese private conglomerate Vingroup JSC, is working to strengthen its position in the global EV market by leveraging new partnerships with distributors and dealers in select markets, including North America, Europe, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia.

On July 28, VinFast broke ground at its new EV manufacturing facility in the U.S. The event marked a significant step toward its global expansion and supply chain development in North America. A total investment of $4 billion is expected to go into the project, with half for the first phase.

The carmaker was founded in 2017 with a vision to drive the global smart electric vehicle revolution. It operates a manufacturing complex in northern Vietnam’s Hai Phong that boasts up to 90% of manufacturing automation and an annual production capacity of up to 300,000 units per year in phase one.

VinFast is the second Vietnamese company to be listed on the Nasdaq. The first was Cavico which was delisted in 2011 due to violations regarding information disclosure.