Vinfast’s inevitable slide down the rankings of most valuable car makers based on share price has already begun after the Vietnamese newcomer was briefly worth more than Porsche following its recent listing on the US Nasdaq stock exchange.
But how did this debt-ridden, loss-making start-up come to be worth a theoretical $160 billion in the first place? Is there anything about Vinfast’s future potential that suggests that this wasn’t just a replay of the EV stock-price bubble that gripped investors in 2021?
Vinfast was founded in 2017 by Vietnam’s richest individual, Pham Nhat Vuong, as part of his Vingroup empire and has undergone a dramatic journey since.