Ms. Cao Thi Ngoc Dung: 28,000 smuggled diamonds did not enter the PNJ system

During a meeting with investors this morning, the board of directors of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) was questioned about how the 28,000 diamonds in the smuggling ring were related to the company.

Responding to this, Ms. Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, affirmed that all of PNJ’s imported diamonds are through official channels, mainly from suppliers in Thailand and Hong Kong (China). They have contracts that agree on origin and transparent import papers and documents.

Ms. Dung said that P-Lab company has no business function, it is just a pure unit performing diamond testing services. There are inspection service contracts between parent company PNJ and subsidiary P-Lab, but there are no trading activities between the two parties.

“I confirm that the amount of diamonds involved in the smuggling ring in this incident did not enter the PNJ system,” she said.

Selling pressure and PNJ’s resistance also became the subject of many questions from investors. CEO of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company, Mr. Phan Quoc Cong, said that since this information appeared, the number of customers coming to the store has increased dramatically. However, after the company issued notices ensuring customers’ rights, the number of people coming to transact in the following 2 days decreased significantly, 50% and 70% respectively compared to the first day. By this morning, the situation had almost returned to normal.

The purchase of diamonds increased PNJ’s inventory, but Mr. Cong affirmed that it was still under control. This business has planned to take advantage of the current purchased goods to include product lines for the year-end season.

After negative information about P Lab’s involvement in a smuggling ring of 28,000 diamonds, PNJ shares fell to 58,700 VND right at the opening session on July 3. This is the lowest level in nearly 7 months. This code often falls into a “white” situation on the buying side, meaning investors place sell orders but no one absorbs them.

This morning, PNJ continued to open for trading with a floor price drop of 54,600 VND per unit. Liquidity is trickling, the situation of “emptiness” on the buyer side occurs continuously. By lunch break, this code only had 371,300 shares changed hands, while more than 13.6 million units were still “stocked” and not yet sold out.

After only 2 trading sessions since the P-Lab incident, PNJ’s capitalization has been blown away by more than 4,350 billion VND.

At the meeting, an investor asked a question about measures implemented by PNJ management to support stock prices, including purchasing treasury shares. Responding, Ms. Cao Thi Ngoc Dung said that the Board of Directors is considering and re-evaluating the purchase of treasury shares (the capital plan was approved at the annual meeting in April). According to Ms. Dung, this can be considered a tool to protect the value of the business and the interests of shareholders when necessary.

Investors directly questioned whether Ms. Dung personally spent money to buy shares at this time. The head of PNJ said that many officials and employees are buying more shares through their families during this period. This morning, in Ms. Dung’s family, her younger brother intended to buy shares. However, because it is an internal person, this takes more time because it must comply with the prescribed information disclosure process.

Regarding business results, the company’s leadership expects to maintain double-digit growth in the second quarter and the whole of 2026. This year, PNJ plans to increase revenue and profit after tax by 37% and 21%, respectively, to VND 48,660 billion and VND 3,409 billion. This growth target far exceeds the projections of many analytical organizations.