Vietnamese EV maker VinFast gains for fourth straight session amid Nasdaq declines

Shares of VinFast (VFS) rose for a fourth consecutive session Thursday, in contrary to the sharp decline of Nasdaq stocks, and hit a record high since its debut on August 15.

VinFast's VFS shares on Nasdaq closed at $49 on the day, with more than 12.8 million shares changing hands, up 54.2% from the previous session.

The company's market capitalization reached nearly $114 billion. This number helped the Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) startup enter the world's top 3 car manufacturing companies in terms of market capitalization, after Tesla ($730.13 billion) and Toyota ($220.27 billion), surpassing Porsche and Mercedes.

On the Forbes billionaires list, Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vingroup, now has a total asset of $41.1 billion, ranking 28th in the world.

The VFS stock rallied amid a sharp drop in US stocks. The Dow Jones closed down 373.56 points (equivalent to 1.08%) to 34,099.42. The S&P 500 index lost 1.35% to 4,376.31 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.87% to 13,463.97.

This was the Dow Jones's biggest decline since March 2023. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also recorded their biggest losses since August 2, 2023.

Out of the 2.3 billion VFS shares, only 4.5 million can be traded. Regulatory filings in the U.S. show Vietnamese tycoon Pham Nhat 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.

Speaking from the U.S. a few hours after closing the Nasdaq offering of VFS on August 15, global CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said it was "a bit surprising" that VinFast's capitalization hit more than $85 billion on its debut.

"When I asked the investment banks, most said that the stock would be red, which means that VFS would drop below $10 a share in the first session," she said.

Thuy said she and her associates initially believed that they would reach a market capitalization of over $23 billion.

The CEO added that VinFast's listing aimed to raise a large amount of capital, not to "do marketing".

VinFast 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 looks 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.

The company 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.

The firm, 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.

VinFast 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% manufacturing automation and an annual production capacity of up to 300,000 units per year in phase one.

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