PNJ Loses Major Foreign Shareholder as Sprucegrove Cuts Stake to 3.75%

Overview

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd sold approximately 6.6 million shares of Phú Nhuận Jewelry (PNJ), reducing its group stake from 5.04% to 3.75% and ending its status as a major shareholder from 2 October 2026. The exit follows a similar reduction by the T. Rowe Price Associates-represented fund group and forced selling by an insider, and lands just before PNJ’s extraordinary shareholder meeting on 21 October 2026 to revise its 2026 business plan.

Key Facts

• Sprucegrove funds sold about 6.6 million PNJ shares, cutting ownership from more than 25.8 million shares (5.04%) to more than 19.2 million shares (3.75%).
• Sprucegrove ceased to be a major shareholder of PNJ from 2 October 2026, per a filing sent to the State Securities Commission, HOSE and PNJ.
• The T. Rowe Price Associates-represented foreign investor group reduced its stake from 30.8 million shares (6.02%) to roughly 25.4 million shares (4.95%), a decline of more than 5.46 million shares.
• Trần Phương Ngọc Giao was force-sold 2.94 million PNJ shares on 8 October 2026, cutting her holding from 14.64 million shares (2.86%) to 11.7 million shares (2.29%).
• Cao Ngọc Duy sold 9 million PNJ shares on 1-2 October 2026, reducing his stake from 13.8 million shares (2.7%) to 4.83 million shares (0.94%).
• PNJ will hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting on 21 October 2026 to adjust its 2026 plan: revenue of VND 39,057 billion (+10% year on year) alongside a provision of more than VND 7,000 billion and a planned after-tax loss of VND 6,271 billion.
• PNJ closed at 18,150 on 12 October 2026 on HOSE.

What Happened

According to a filing submitted to the State Securities Commission, the Hồ Chí Minh City Stock Exchange and PNJ, member funds of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd sold a combined 6.6 million PNJ shares. The group’s holding fell from more than 25.8 million shares, or 5.04% of capital, to more than 19.2 million shares, or 3.75%, so from 2 October 2026 Sprucegrove is no longer a major shareholder. A separate foreign investor group represented by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. also dropped below the 5% threshold, falling from 6.02% to 4.95% after 17 of its 21 member funds traded PNJ on 2 October 2026.

Insider selling compounded the foreign outflow. Trần Phương Ngọc Giao, daughter of PNJ Chairman Cao Thị Ngọc Dung and sister of Vice Chairwoman Trần Phương Ngọc Thảo, was force-sold 2.94 million shares on 8 October 2026, reducing her stake to 2.29%. Cao Ngọc Duy sold 9 million shares on 1-2 October 2026 via matched and negotiated orders, cutting his holding to 0.94%. The company separately disclosed that Chairman Cao Thị Ngọc Dung directly holds more than 15 million shares (2.93%) and Trần Phương Ngọc Thảo holds more than 11 million shares (2.15%).

Market Context

PNJ trades on HOSE and closed at 18,150 on 12 October 2026, with the stock appearing in the same news cycle as falling domestic gold prices at SJC, PNJ, DOJI and other dealers. The departures of two foreign institutional anchors within days of each other, alongside margin-driven insider selling, remove a layer of large-holder support at a moment when the retail jewelry sector is already contending with gold-price volatility and softer discretionary demand. The broader Vietnamese market backdrop is not detailed in the source article.

Strategic Significance

The central issue is not the identity of the sellers but the earnings reset they are reacting to. PNJ’s proposed 2026 plan pairs 10% revenue growth with a provision exceeding VND 7,000 billion tied to its sold-goods exchange policy, producing a planned after-tax loss of VND 6,271 billion; excluding that provision, the company indicates an after-tax profit. For long-term holders, the 21 October 2026 meeting is the venue where the accounting treatment, the provision’s scope and any recovery assumptions will be tested. Foreign ownership falling below the 5% major-holder threshold also reduces disclosure frequency on those funds, leaving domestic insider filings and the EGM documents as the primary visibility into shareholder behavior.

What to Watch

• The 21 October 2026 extraordinary shareholder meeting outcome, including approval of the revised 2026 revenue, provision and loss targets.
• Details of the VND 7,000 billion provision: whether it is a one-off policy adjustment or reflects recurring losses on the exchange program.
• Further filings from Sprucegrove, the T. Rowe Price group or insiders, given both foreign groups are now below the 5% major-holder disclosure threshold.
• Whether Chairman Cao Thị Ngọc Dung or Vice Chairwoman Trần Phương Ngọc Thảo adjust their disclosed holdings.
• PNJ’s next quarterly earnings disclosure for evidence on revenue trajectory and gold-inventory margins.