Bill Gates foundation trust increases stake in Vietnamese jeweler PNJ

PNJ said a group of foreign investors related to Dragon Capital purchased a combined 522,000 PNJ shares in a February 10, 2026 transaction, increasing the group's total holdings from more than 16.73 million shares, or 4.9 percent of the charter capital, to more than 17.25 million shares, or over five percent.

Following the transaction, the foreign investor group became a major shareholder in PNJ.

Among the buyers, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust acquired an additional 80,000 shares. 

Its holdings rose from 163,504 shares, equivalent to 0.0479 percent, to 243,504 shares, or about 0.0714 percent of PNJ's charter capital.

DC Developing Markets Strategies Public Limited Company bought 282,000 shares, elevating its holdings from 550,000 shares to 832,000 shares and raising its ownership from 0.16 percent to 0.24 percent.

Hanoi Investments Holdings Limited purchased 100,000 shares, lifting its holdings from 1.67 million to 1.77 million shares, with its ownership ratio rising from 0.49 percent to 0.52 percent.

Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL) bought an additional 60,000 shares, increasing its total holdings from 7.56 million to 7.62 million shares and its ownership from 2.22 percent to 2.23 percent.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust manages the endowment assets of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organization founded more than 20 years ago by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates.

The foundation has grown into one of the world's largest charitable organizations, with more than 2,000 employees and total assets of US$75.2 billion as of the end of 2023.

In addition to direct investments, the trust has previously had indirect exposure to Vietnam's stock market through VEIL, the largest fund in the market managed by Dragon Capital.