Nguyen Thanh Phuong is the co-founder of Viet Capital Securities and Viet Capital Asset Management, both established in 2007. She's also the chairperson of Viet Capital Bank. The Swiss-educated Phuong helped establish Viet Capital, which over the years has become a leading firm in dealmaking in Vietnam. Viet Capital Securities won this year's FinanceAsia investment bank award.
The firm's clients include the cream of Vietnam's rising corporate sector, including consumer group Masan and the dairy producer Vinamilk, as well as VietJet Air. Phuong is arguably the most influential person in Vietnamese finance.
Note on Women in Finance series: FinanceAsia’s 2015 honour roll of the most influential women across the Asia Pacific region spans investment and commercial bankers.
Published as a feature in the July / August 2015 print edition of FinanceAsia, the series also presents leading women in new areas of finance such as fintech where Asian companies are among the fastest-growing in the world.
We also canvassed corporate financiers for exceptional women working in deal advisory including lawyers and accountants. In the process of researching the series, we found evidence of progress in creating more diverse workplaces in the region.
Correction: FinanceAsia published an article entitled "Top 25 Women in Asia Pacific Finance" in the July/August 2015 edition, in which we wrote a brief profile of Ms. Nguyen Thanh Phuong that contained a number of errors. Firstly, Ms. Nguyen does not serve on the board of VietJet Air. The company is a client of Viet Capital Securities. Secondly, we made a statement saying that Nguyen Thanh Phuong had relinquished her role in Viet Capital Bank due to questions being raised by internet users about links to her personal background instead of due to her pregnancy. We accept that these points were inaccurate and misleading.