VietNamNet Bridge - This year the Forbes list named Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, Chair and CEO of Phu Nhuan Jewelry (PNJ), Thai Huong, Chair of TH Group, and Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Chair and co-founder of Sovico Holdings.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Chair and co-founder of Sovico Holdings.

The Forbes magazine has released a list of 50 most powerful businesswomen in Asia (Asia's Power Businesswomen). This year the representatives came from 14 countries and are involved in many business fields.

China and Hong Kong dominated with 14 women, followed by India with eight, Thailand with five and Japan with four. Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam each had three, while South Korea and the Philippines each had two. Macau, Taiwan and New Zealand had one each.

There are a total of 27 newcomers on this year’s list. Among them areRobina Gokongwei-Pe, President and COO of the Philippines’ Robinsons Retail Holdings; Somruedee Chaimongkol, CEO of Thailand’s Banpu; Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, Chairman and CEO of Vietnam’s Phu Nhuan Jewelry; Lorna Jane Clarkson, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Australia’s Lorna Jane; and Kumiko Otsuka, President of Japan’s Otsuka Kagu. About a quarter of the newcomers are from the tech sector.

Here are the three businesswomen of Vietnam:

Ms. Cao Thi Ngoc Dung established PNJ in 1998. From a store, she turned PNJ into Vietnam's largest brand of jewelry, with more than 3,000 employees and 200 stores. In 2015, PNJ grossed $350 million of revenue and $23 million of profit. PNJ listed on the Vietnam stock exchange in 2004, and Dung now owns 17% stake of the company.

Cao Thi Ngoc Dung

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao studied in Russia in the 90s. She is a major shareholder and founder of Sovico Holdings. The company owns the HD Bank and Vietnam’s first private low-cost airline VietJet Air. In 2014, the company was merged with DaiABank and currently has total assets of $5 billion, 10,000 employees and 225 branches. Meanwhile, VietJet was founded in 2011, and now has 29 aircraft. It's market share is increasing.

Thai Huong appeared on the list last year. She became involved in the dairy sector in 2009 with a commitment to change the dairy industry of Vietnam, focusing on liquid milk instead of powdered milk. Last year, she invested $2.7 billion in Russian agriculture, including a $500 million farm. The goal is to develop a herd of 350,000 cows and produce 1.8 million liters of milk a year.

In 2015, estimated revenue of TH is $215 million and profit of $45 million. In 1994, Thai Huong founded the North Asia Bank with total assets of close to $3 billion. Huong is a major shareholder in both TH and North Asia Bank.

To select this list, Forbes used the following criteria: company revenue, the position of the candidate in the company and the level of participation in the work.

Thai Huong

Former Chair of the Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) - Ms. Mai Kieu Lien – was named on the list for four consecutive years, from 2012 to 2015.

The following years Vietnam had more representatives: Pham Thi Viet Nga - Chair of Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Company, Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh - Chair and CEO of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering (REE), and Nguyen Thi Nga - Chair of the South East Asian Bank (Seabank).

Last year, Mai Kieu Lien and Thai Huong were on the list.

Nam Nguyen