PNJ Hits Floor as Foreign Ownership Slips Below 29%

Overview

Phu Nhuan Jewelry (PNJ), listed on HOSE, closed at its floor price of 18,150 VND per share on October 12, 2026, as foreign investors sold more than VND 100 billion net and foreign ownership fell below 29% for the first time in years. The move reverses a brief three-session recovery that had followed 13 consecutive limit-down sessions.

Key Facts

• PNJ closed at 18,150 VND per share on October 12, 2026, its floor price, leaving market capitalization at roughly VND 9,300 billion (about USD 372 million).
• Foreign investors sold more than VND 100 billion of PNJ shares net on October 12 alone.
• Sprucegrove Investment Management and T. Rowe Price Associates both reported ceasing to be major shareholders after the October 2 session, having crossed the 5% threshold only in August.
• Foreign ownership in PNJ has dropped below 29%, described as a multi-year low.
• VNDIRECT liquidated 2.94 million PNJ shares held by Tran Phuong Ngoc Giao, daughter of chairman Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, on October 8, 2026, cutting her holding from 2.86% to 2.29% of charter capital.
• Between September 11 and October 8, three daughters and the brother of chairwoman Cao Thi Ngoc Dung sold PNJ shares, including 7 million shares by vice chairwoman Tran Phuong Ngoc Thao and 18 million by Tran Phuong Ngoc Ha.
• Cao Ngoc Duy, brother of the chairwoman, sold 9 million shares on October 1-2, reducing his stake from 2.7% to 0.94%.

What Happened

The October 12 session ended a short-lived rebound. Before that date, PNJ had spent three sessions off the floor, including one limit-up close that halted a run of 13 straight declines. That recovery was interrupted by renewed selling from both domestic and foreign accounts, with foreign net selling exceeding VND 100 billion on the day.

The selling pressure coincided with a wave of disclosures from large foreign shareholders. Sprucegrove Investment Management and T. Rowe Price Associates both reported they were no longer major shareholders of PNJ after the October 2 session, a day of record liquidity for the stock. Both funds had only become major shareholders in August, meaning their tenure above the 5% ownership threshold lasted less than two months. On the domestic side, VNDIRECT disclosed the forced liquidation of 2.94 million PNJ shares belonging to Tran Phuong Ngoc Giao, daughter of chairman Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, executed on October 8, 2026, one day after the broker issued an advance notice of the sale. The filing states the shares were sold in full.

Market Context

PNJ trades on the HOSE exchange and sits in the retail jewelry segment, a consumer discretionary category sensitive to gold prices and household spending. The stock’s fall to 18,150 VND on October 12 extends a volatile stretch that included 13 consecutive floor sessions before a brief rebound. The collapse in foreign ownership from near-full room to below 29% marks a structural shift in the shareholder base: PNJ was long characterized by a tight or effectively closed foreign ownership limit, and that condition no longer holds. The article does not provide a broader VN-Index comparison for the session.

Strategic Significance

The rapid entry and exit of Sprucegrove and T. Rowe Price within roughly two months suggests the foreign ownership ceiling itself, rather than a durable long-term thesis, may have attracted that capital. With room now open below 29%, PNJ’s shareholder register is more liquid and less scarcity-driven, which removes a historical support for the valuation but also widens the potential buyer base. The concentration of insider sales within the chairman’s family, including a forced liquidation, raises governance questions that long-term investors will weigh against the company’s retail network and brand position. The article does not disclose the transaction values of the insider sales.

What to Watch

• Further disclosures on foreign ownership levels and whether the rate stabilizes below 29% or continues to fall.
• Any new major-shareholder filings from Sprucegrove, T. Rowe Price, or other institutional holders.
• Additional insider transaction reports from the Cao family and related parties.
• PNJ’s next quarterly earnings release for evidence on revenue and margin trends.
• Trading liquidity and whether the stock can hold above the 18,150 VND floor without renewed forced selling.