Lightning in the US financial sky...

VinFast shares have had a week of strong price increases, causing a storm of public opinion in the international market as well as in Vietnam.

In the past 5 sessions (August 21-25), VinFast shares increased 4.5 times and reached a new peak on the US Nasdaq stock exchange: 68.77 USD/share. VinFast's capitalization increased by more than 120 billion USD, to nearly 160 billion USD.

This has made VinFast the second largest electric car company in the world, after billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla (with a capitalization of 957 billion USD as of August 25). VinFast is also the third largest car company in the world, after Toyota (with a capitalization of more than 222 billion USD).

Thus, after a very short time, the young Vietnamese car company (established in 2017) has successively surpassed the giants in the industry with a very long history of development, hundreds of years such as: General Motors, Ford, Honda, Ferrari, Volkswagen, and recently surpassed the two giants BMW, Mercedes-Benz and then the German supercar company Porsche.

VinFast's capitalization is even nearly double that of China's famous electric car giant BYD. This is an electric car company that is threatening Tesla's No. 1 position and has a very large sales volume.

In the first half of 2023, BYD delivered more than 1.26 million vehicles. In 2022, the Chinese electric car company sold 1.86 million vehicles, 3 times more than in 2021. BYD is making a strong push into the ASEAN market.

The stock price breakthrough surpassed even the American auto giants, surpassed the long-standing German giants (which VinFast had previously bought some technology from when making gasoline cars) and even the famous Chinese electric car company BYD... made VinFast get the attention of the American and Chinese media, with articles analyzing and evaluating it.

VinFast is considered by the international media and public opinion as a young car company, but the ambition of its billionaire leader - Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong is very big, wanting to conquer the US, European, Middle East and ASEAN markets. VinFast is supported by the largest private corporation in Vietnam - Vingroup (HOSE: VIC), chaired by Mr. Vuong.

Investors' high expectations for the future of the global electric vehicle industry and VinFast's very low free float (4.5 million units compared to more than 2.3 billion listed VFS shares)... are also factors supporting the breakthrough in the US stock market.

VinFast breaks through to become the world's second largest electric car company by capitalization.

In fact, Vietnam is a country with strengths in agriculture and tourism, rather than high-tech industrial production. This is also a factor that attracts international media when VinFast makes a splashy debut on the US's No. 1 technology stock exchange. Previously, VinFast also started construction on a factory in North Carolina, USA, with a total investment of 4 billion USD in 2 phases.

Not only is it larger than other car companies in the world, with a capitalization of 160 billion USD, VinFast is in the top 100 companies with the largest capitalization globally, surpassing many big names such as Walt Disney, Nike, Boeing... even some banks such as HSBC with a hundred-year history of operation in the UK.

Also overnight, billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong - owner of VinFast car company - has added tens of billions of USD to his fortune and is currently the 23rd richest person in the world, number 3 in Asia and number 1 in Southeast Asia, according to Forbes' rankings.

Or the beginning of a legend?

There have been many conflicting opinions appearing in the media as well as in some investor communities around the world about the appearance of VinFast shares on the Nasdaq and the explosive price increase in recent days.

Besides, the story of Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong's ranking in the wealth rankings, Chairman of Vietnam's largest private corporation - Vingroup (parent company of VinFast) is also something that many people mention.

The two organizations that rank the world's richest businessmen, Forbes and Bloomberg, have been confused and have had many changes in recent days, as Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong's position has continuously risen in rank following the soaring fluctuations of VinFast shares.

Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong surpassed many leading businessmen in the world, in the context that the value of VinFast car company is still a controversial issue. The free float of VinFast shares is still very low.

In fact, many people are skeptical about the price breakthrough of VinFast shares, but there are also people who believe in the risk-taking appetite of the US stock market, just like they once bet on Tesla shares of billionaire Elon Musk.

History shows that on the US Nasdaq, technology-related stocks are more likely to attract cash flow. Many other electric vehicle stocks have also made strong breakthroughs on the US stock market. Some stocks then fell and then rose again, but some stocks fell sharply.

Over the past decade, billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla stock has fluctuated like a roller coaster and Tesla has faced bankruptcy many times before becoming the world's number 1 car company.

For VinFast, if VFS shares remain at a reasonable high level, and the Vietnamese car company boosts sales of electric cars in the US, issuing shares to attract capital as well as borrowing capital for investment and development both domestically and internationally will be very favorable. VinFast's ability to invest in expansion and breakthrough is completely possible.

Besides, many people also have high expectations for billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, a person known to have great ambition, vision, strategy in business development and wanting to contribute to society.

The potential and market for electric vehicles in the world is huge and the prospects may be even bigger in the future. Moreover, green development is a global trend in the future. Many governments are setting many taxes and fees for high emissions. Since COP26, many people have become aware of environmental protection. From there, the demand for electric vehicles is increasing. In Vietnam, the authorities are also proposing support for electric vehicle assembly and production enterprises as well as electric vehicle consumers.

The “Tesla Vietnam” phenomenon has only lasted for a few sessions. It could be a flash in the pan, but it could also be the beginning of a new legend (?!)

Currently, investors are waiting for the next steps of the Vietnamese electric car company. Along with the impressions of the Vietnamese economy and the country's favorable position in the most dynamic development region of the world in the new century.

Everything is still ahead, and there are still many challenges as VinFast CEO Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy said. Whether or not it can be done depends on VinFast.

Vietnamnet.vn