Plunge in VinFast shares shows risks of investing in similar stock offerings, says WSJ

RALEIGH – Investors in shares for Vietnam-based VinFast (VFS) have ridden in a stormy surf over the past month with shares rising to astronomical highs before plunging over the last 11 days. The rapid rise and then fall of the stock shows the risks of investing in the kind of offering VinFast executed, reports The Wall Street Journal.

But oh, the highs.

“At their peak, VinFast’s shares briefly valued the six-year-old business at $190 billion. That is twice the combined value of Ford and General Motors, despite the company just starting to increase production. Its shares have tumbled nearly 80% from that high in the past 11 trading days,” the newspaper reports.

VinFast went public through a so-called SPAC (special purpose acquisition company), publicly traded Black Spade being VinFast’s partner. It’s building a huge, multi-billion-dollar factory in Chatham County and has plans to expand elsewhere.

“The eye-popping swings in its shares that followed mirror the volatility that has been common among startups that went public the same way and reflect the quirks of how such deals often work,” the Journal notes.

VinFast is still worth some $40 billion with shares around $17. It went public at $10 a share.