Photo Cafebiz

HA NOI (Biz Hub) —  When the Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Group made its debut listing on the stock market in 2008, its chairman Doan Nguyen Duc became the richest man on the Vietnamese bourse.

Duc held a majority 54.37 per cent of the group's shares initially, but over the past four years his holdings have dropped to 43.39 per cent, according to business news site Cafebiz.

The decrease in Duc's shares came as HAGL issued shares to Deutche Bank in 2010 and Credit Suisse this year.

Investment powerhouse Temasek Holdings owned by the Singaporean Government has about US$60million worth of convertible bonds from HAGL. When the bonds are converted into shares Duc's ownership is set to decrease further.

Apart from Duc, HAG major shareholders include Credit Suisse with 10.4 per cent of shares, Jaccar with 6.8 per cent, Deutche Bank with 5.7 per cent, Dragon Capital with 5 per cent and Markets Vector Vietnam ETF with two per cent.

HAGL is involved in not only real estate but also rubber but also the mining, hydro power, wood and granite sectors.

On the stock market, the heads of many big domestic companies hold less than half of their companies' stakes, at around 30-40 per cent. Vingroup chairman Pham Nhat Vuong and his wife own 36 per cent of their group, while Hoa Phat Group's chairman Tran Dinh Long and his wife have 31.5 per cent. Nevertheless they still have the greatest influence on their companies operations. — VNS