Pham Thu Huong, vice-chairwoman of Vingroup, becomes Vietnam’s richest woman

Huong -- wife of chairman of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate Vingroup, Pham Nhat Vuong -- ranks 1,070th globally. Her fortune rose by $162.2 million, or 4.2 percent, in the latest trading session.

She has overtaken Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, chairwoman of budget air carrier Vietjet Air, to become Vietnam’s richest woman.

Thao is also listed with a fortune of $4 billion, ranking 1,073rd worldwide.

When Forbes released its 2026 annual billionaire list in March, the two women held the opposite positions. Thao had a fortune of $4.2 billion and ranked 1,011th, while Huong made her debut on the list with $3 billion, ranking 1,406th.

In nearly six months, Huong’s fortune has increased by $1 billion, while her global ranking has climbed 336 places.

Pham Nhat Vuong -- Huong’s husband and chairman of Vingroup -- remains Vietnam’s richest person with a fortune of $35.6 billion on Forbes’ real-time billionaire ranking, ranking 61st worldwide. His fortune was valued at $27.7 billion on Forbes’ annual list.

Pham Thuy Hang, Vingroup vice-chairwoman and Huong’s younger sister, ranks 1,489th globally with a fortune of $2.8 billion. Her wealth has increased by $700 million since March, while her ranking has improved by nearly 500 places.

At Vingroup, Huong directly owns 341.2 million VIC shares, equivalent to 4.4 percent of the company’s charter capital.

Forbes recalculates billionaires’ fortunes daily based on stock prices, meaning much of the increase in her wealth has come from the rise in VIC shares.

VIC shares rose 4.31 percent to VND230,000 ($8.8) apiece on August 26. At that price, Huong’s VIC holdings were worth approximately VND78.48 trillion ($3 billion).

Compared with the end of February, when Forbes finalized data for its annual billionaire list, VIC has gained 33.7 percent.

Vingroup’s market capitalization currently stands at VND1.785 quadrillion ($68.4 billion), the highest on Vietnam’s stock market.

Besides Vingroup, Huong is also a shareholder in Fortune Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank, or LPBank.

Huong owns 148.3 million LPB shares, equivalent to a 4.965-percent stake, according to LPBank’s list of shareholders holding at least one percent of its charter capital, published July 27.

At the August 26 closing price of VND49,600 ($1.9), her LPB holdings were worth VND7.356 trillion ($282 million).

Vuong additionally owns a 4.894-percent stake in LPBank, bringing the couple’s combined direct ownership at the bank to 9.86 percent.

Vingroup achieves 58% of full-year profit target

Vingroup approved a 2026 plan calling for VND485 trillion ($18.6 billion) in net revenue and VND35 trillion ($1.3 billion) in after-tax profit at its annual general meeting on April 22. 

The revenue target is the highest the group has ever set.

After six months, Vingroup reported consolidated net revenue of VND222.3 trillion ($8.5 billion), up 72.5 percent year on year.

After-tax profit reached VND20.375 trillion ($781.3 million), 4.5 times the figure recorded in the same period last year and equivalent to 58 percent of the full-year target.

Infrastructure and green energy have been identified by Vingroup as new pillars of long-term growth.

VinSpeed has begun construction of the Ben Thanh–Can Gio high-speed railway in southern Vietnam and the Hanoi–Quang Ninh railway in the northern region, while VinEnergo is focusing on renewable energy, carbon credits and energy storage.

In the electric vehicle business, VinFast has set a target of delivering 300,000 electric cars this year. In the first six months, the company delivered more than 128,660 vehicles globally, up 78 percent year on year.

According to Forbes, Huong holds a master’s degree in international law from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

She and Vuong started their business careers in Ukraine before moving their operations to Vietnam. She has served as Vingroup’s vice-chairwoman for many years.