He was once among the top five richest Vietnamese stock billionaires.

The richest professor in Vietnam

According to the list of professor and associate professor candidates for 2025 approved by the State Council of Professorship, Associate Professor Dr Ho Xuan Nang, Chairof Vicostone, a member company of the Phenikaa Group, has met the criteria for full professorship in 2025.

He is expected to be recognized as a professor once the president of the State Council of Professorship and Minister of Education and Training Minister Nguyen Kim Son, signs the decision of approval.

If so, Ho Xuan Nang will become Vietnam’s richest professor, with an estimated fortune of about VND6.6 trillion (as of November 6, based on VCS stock value).

Born in 1964 in Yen Thang Commune, Y Yen District, former Nam Dinh Province, Nang graduated from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), majoring in internal combustion engines in May 1986 and earned his PhD in mechanical engineering there in 1992. He also obtained a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages from Hanoi University of Foreign Languages in 1988.

He was recognized as an associate professor in 2022. Currently, Nang serves as lecturer and Chair of the Phenikaa University Council. Prior to that, he was Chair of the Board and Director of the Phenikaa Institute for Advanced Study and Technology.

The man behind  Phenikaa ecosystem

Ho Xuan Nang gained fame on the stock market with the nickname “Nang Do Thai” (Jewish Nang) after a legendary acquisition of the artificial stone manufacturer Vicostone in late 2014.

As Vice Chair and General Director of Vicostone at the time, Nang held 90 percent of the parent company Phenikaa’s charter capital, making him the most powerful figure in both Phenikaa and Vicostone.

Under Phenikaa’s umbrella, Vicostone experienced a complete transformation. Since 2017, its profits have consistently exceeded VND1 trillion per year, peaking at more than VND1.77 trillion in 2021. With annual profits of around VND1 trillion from Vicostone, Phenikaa has expanded into various new business fields, including real estate most recently.

VCS shares reached its peak of nearly VND140,000 per share (adjusted price) in April 2018. At its highest point, Vicostone’s market capitalization exceeded VND22 trillion, or nearly $1 billion. At that time, Nang directly and indirectly owned about 120 million VCS shares, equivalent to roughly VND17 trillion (around $750 million).

However, his current fortune is calculated only on the Vicostone shares he owns, while Phenikaa ecosystem, including education, research, and Phenikaa X startups, is believed to be much larger.

Over the past decade under his leadership, the Phenikaa ecosystem has expanded, now comprising of Phenikaa University (formerly Thanh Tay University), Phenikaa Education Investment JSC, Phenikaa Certification JSC, Phenikaa Electronics JSC, the Phenikaa Institute for Advanced Study and Technology, and Phenikaa-X JSC.

Potential dollar billionaire

Phenikaa-X has launched Vietnam’s first Level-4 autonomous vehicle and is expanding into drones, smart city solutions, and other high-tech sectors.

The company also developed Vietnam’s first fully autonomous industrial robot - the AMR Pallet Mover - deployed at Samsung Electronics factory. It can carry loads up to 1,000 kg and operate completely independently, can fully automatically find routes, pick and transfer goods. Recently, Phenikaa-X has begun deploying autonomous robots for medical applications.

Nang’s ambition in higher education is extremely large, with Phenikaa University now offering 55 programs after 17 years of development, admitting over 10,000 students annually and hosting three research institutes.

Phenikaa also operates in real estate with the Endless Skyline West Lake office, hotel and high-end apartment complex project in Tay Ho district, Hanoi. The project is built and developed by Nam Hung JSC, a Phenikaa Group member, with a scale of 3,626.8 sqm including 150 commercial apartments, 56 rental apartments and 150 hotel rooms. The project completed foundation in late 2023 and opened for sale in early 2024, with prices up to hundreds of millions of dong per sqm.

In 2018, Nang’s assets once reached  $750 million and entered the top 5 richest on the stock market at that time. He was expected to become Vietnam's third US dollar billionaire in the same year, after billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and Hoa Phat Group (HPG) Chair Tran Dinh Long.

However, Nang's assets later declined following the drop in Vicostone (VCS) stock price and a large portion of these assets poured into the training sector which has not been counted. If Nang's education and technology segments go public, the stone industry "boss" is likely to enter Forbes' US dollar billionaires list.

Manh Ha