The value of a Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer has surpassed that of Volkswagen and Ford.
The market value of one of Vietnam’s largest automakers has risen above that of industry behemoths like Volkswagen and Ford thanks to the company’s successful Wall Street debut.
Following its merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the electric car manufacturer VinFast made a scorching debut in New York on Tuesday.
On their first day of trading, shares of the newly amalgamated business increased by 270% on the Nasdaq. They cost $10 when they first went on sale for $22, and they ended up costing $37 each.
The increase took VinFast’s market capitalization beyond $85 billion. That surpasses the valuations of Ford (F) and Volkswagen (VLKAF), which are respectively value at 63.9 billion euros ($69.7 billion) and $48 billion by Refinitiv.
But the spectacular surge was support by scant trading. According to a regulatory filing, Pham Nhat Vuong, the richest man in Vietnam, still owns 99% of VinFast through shares held by his other company Vingroup and other corporate organizations.
Volkswagen and Ford
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires index, Vuong, the chairman of Vingroup and VinFast, saw an increase in his personal worth of about $39 billion on Tuesday as a result of the carmaker’s stock rising sharply. His current estimated fortune is $44.3 billion.
As a division of Vingroup, one of the major enterprises in Vietnam, VinFast was established in 2017. The company manufactures electric buses, scooters, and SUVs that are sold in North America and Vietnam.
According to its Tuesday performance, VinFast is now the largest Vietnamese firm with a US listing in terms of market cap.
Thuy Le, CEO of VinFast, expressed his optimism in a statement: “It is our hope that VinFast’s listing will inspire and unleash greater opportunities for Vietnamese brands to participate in the global market.”
Cold US response
According to the company’s prospectus, it has so far delivered almost 19,000 electric car types and released four new electric vehicle models. To put things into perspective, Volkswagen only sold 4.4 million vehicles in the first half of 2023, more than 321,000 of which were electrified.
In Vietnam, where its cars are best-sellers and have access to a vast charging network spanning more than 60 towns and provinces, VinFast is a household name.
The Vietnamese newcomer, which began shipping to consumers in the United States earlier this year, has fared less well there.
