The women blazing a trail on Vietnam's stock market

The Vietnamese stock market is home to large-cap companies led by talented and pioneering women. Following are some of them.

Vietjet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, 53, is Vietnam’s first self-made female billionaire. She found low-cost carrier Vietjet Air in 2011 and has gradually expanded across Southeast Asia and Asia.

Vietjet made budget air travel popular in Vietnam. Domestically, the no-frills carrier’s services cover almost the entire country, not to mention Asian destinations. The corporation is listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, or HoSE, as VJC.

VietJet is part of her HCMC-based conglomerate Sovico Group, which also includes HDBank where she serves as standing vice chair. The Forbes-listed billionaire is also Sovico’s chairperson.

She owns 47.4 million VJC shares, and her own company Huong Duong Sunny Investment Co. holds nearly 155 million VJC shares as a major shareholder.

On the Forbes list, her total assets as of March 7 were $3.1 billion, making her the 984th richest person in the world.

Vingroup vice chairperson Pham Thu Huong

Huong, 54, is the wife of Forbes-listed billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, founder and chairman of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest listed conglomerate (HoSE: VIC).

She is known as one of the founders of Vingroup and currently holds the vice chair position. She owns more than 169 million VIC shares.

The couple founded the VinFuture Foundation in 2020 with the mission of honoring the power of breakthrough science and technology, creating meaningful changes to the lives of people.

Vinamilk CEO Mai Kieu Lien

Lien is seen as the soul of Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest dairy producer. She has been at Vinamilk’s helm for three decades and now sits on its board of directors. The Forbes Vietnam magazine in 2019 named her on a list of the 50 most influential women in Vietnam.

Lien has been driving Vinamilk to its top position in the Vietnamese market, and its VNM shares are among the bluechips most sought after.

She owns more than 6.4 million Vinamilk (HoSE: VNM) shares. As of March 7, her total assets were worth more than VND480 billion (over $20.2 million).

Bac A Bank CEO Thai Huong

Huong, 65, is CEO and vice chair of Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Hanoi Stock Exchange: BAB). The lender, under her leadership for more than 20 years, has established a footprint in Vietnam.

The Nghe An native was once on the Forbes list of the 50 “most powerful women in Asia”. Huong is also at the helm of dairy company TH True Milk, which is a popular dairy brand among Vietnamese consumers. The company also provides organic agricultural products.

SeABank vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Nga

Nga, 68, has taken economics courses in France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and was the first Vietnamese woman to be invited to study in Georgetown in the U.S., funded by the Clinton Foundation.

She is now standing vice chairwoman at the Hanoi-based SeABank (HoSE: SSB) after serving as chairperson for 10 years. She herself holds 72.1 million SSB shares, and is the representative for three other legal entities that hold 187 million SSB shares.

Nga is the founder of BRG Group, one of Vietnam’s largest real estate developers. BRG is well-known as the owner of luxury golf courses in Vietnam. Forbes magazine previously named her as one of the three most powerful Vietnamese businesswomen in Asia.

Truong Thi Le Khanh, chairwoman of Vinh Hoan - “pangasius king”

Khanh, 62, is the founder and chairperson of Vinh Hoan JSC (HoSE: VHC), known as “the pangasius king” in Vietnam, because it is the leader in exporting products made from Vietnamese catfish.

Starting with just 70 employees, VHC has become a bluechip in Vietnam. Company statistics show that she currently holds more than 79.1 million VHC shares.

REE chairwoman Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh

Thanh, 71, has led HCMC-based refrigeration and engineering REE Corporation for years. After her university graduation in Germany with a degree in mechanical and electrical engineering, she joined REE in 1982 as an engineer. She became the HCMC-based company’s CEO in 1985 when the firm was still a small refrigeration business.

She made a milestone by expanding to real estate development, making her E-town office building brand in HCMC widely known.

Following the success of the E-town 1 project, Thanh continued to invest in E-town 2, 3, and 4, completed at the end of 2006 and 2008. Through many ups and downs, REE has become a leader in refrigeration across Vietnam. Thanh holds more than 43.3 million REE shares.