Dragon Capital no longer Vietnamese jeweler PNJ’s major shareholder after share sale

The transactions were carried out on July 16, lowering Dragon Capital’s holdings to 23.33 million shares (4.56 percent) from 25.84 million PNJ shares (5.05 percent).

Dragon Capital officially exited its major shareholder status on July 20.

Among the affiliated funds, Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited sold the largest volume, offloading 1.38 million PNJ shares.

Norges Bank sold 600,000 shares, DC Developing Markets Strategies Public Limited Company sold 300,000 shares, Amersham Industries Limited sold 120,000 shares, and Gates Foundation Trust disposed of 112,893 shares.

This marks the second foreign fund group to exit PNJ’s major shareholder list in July.

On July 8, VinaCapital-managed funds sold nearly 3.1 million PNJ shares, reducing their stake in the Vietnamese jewelry maker to 4.99 percent.

According to PNJ’s 2025 annual report, the only remaining major shareholder is T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., which holds about 17.7 million PNJ shares, or a 5.19-percent stake, as of March 18.

The foreign funds' divestments come as PNJ shares have plunged since early July following developments involving PNJ’s wholly-owned gemstone certification subsidiary P-Lab.

Early this month, police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam pressed charges against Dang Ngoc Thao, former director of P-Lab, and 21 other suspects for their alleged involvement in a transnational diamond smuggling case.

Investigators alleged that the suspects imported more than 28,000 diamonds into Vietnam in 141 shipments since 2024, generating an estimated VND280 billion (US$10.65 million) in revenue.

Authorities seized about 1,100 diamonds during searches of 20 locations and said the investigation was continuing.

From July 3 through July 22, PNJ shares shed about 44 percent, wiping out roughly VND14.1 trillion ($535 million) in market capitalization.

The sharp decline has also prompted several brokerages to tighten margin lending for the stock.

In its updated margin list released on Wednesday, SSI Securities cut PNJ's margin lending ratio to zero from 40 percent, while KIS Vietnam removed PNJ from its margin list.

Earlier, Techcom Securities excluded PNJ from margin lending beginning July 9, and Phu Hung Securities also reduced its lending ratio to zero.

In related news, the jewelry maker has adjusted its buyback process for jewelry products with repurchase commitments to better manage liquidity and quality control.

In a letter to shareholders on Tuesday, PNJ said customer demand for reselling jewelry had surged, prompting temporary liquidity management measures.

PNJ stressed these adjustments are short-term and reaffirmed its commitment to repurchase eligible products.

The firm added that its retail jewelry sales this month has improved nearly 20 percent year on year, underscoring the resilience of its core business.