Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This article clarifies P-Lab’s position as a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNJ, highlighting its establishment date and comparatively smaller investment value among the company’s three subsidiaries.
P-Lab is one of three wholly-owned subsidiaries of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ), according to its Q1 2026 separate financial report. The other two are Jewelry Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited (PNJP) and CAO Fashion Company Limited (CAF). P-Lab was established on December 16, 2010.
As of March 31, 2026, PNJ’s investment in P-Lab was recorded at VND 10 billion. This is the smallest investment among PNJ’s three subsidiaries. In contrast, PNJ has invested over VND 500 billion in PNJP and VND 211 billion in CAF. Thus, the investment in P-Lab accounts for only about 1.4% of PNJ’s total investment in its three subsidiaries.
According to annual reports for 2023, 2024, and 2025, PNJ and P-Lab have conducted numerous service transactions during their operations, in addition to capital investments.
In 2023, PNJ paid P-Lab approximately VND 6.83 billion for inspection and testing services.
By 2024, payments for inspection and testing services increased to over VND 10.7 billion. In 2025, PNJ is expected to pay P-Lab about VND 9.2 billion.
Thus, over the three years from 2023 to 2025, the total amount PNJ paid this subsidiary for inspection and testing services reached approximately VND 26.7 billion.
Meanwhile, P-Lab also pays rent to PNJ. This payment reached over VND 1.09 billion in 2023, over VND 1.14 billion in 2024, and VND 500 million in 2025.
The 2023 financial report also recorded loan transactions between the two companies in addition to service transactions. PNJ repaid P-Lab a loan of VND 30 billion and interest of about VND 1.59 billion. That same year, PNJ received a new loan of VND 12 billion from this subsidiary, based on a board resolution.
P-Lab gained attention after the Thanh Hoa Provincial Police prosecuted its former director, Dang Ngoc Thao, in a diamond smuggling case.
According to investigators, Thao is suspected of conspiring with others to purchase smuggled diamonds at low prices that did not match the specifications on GIA certificates. He then allegedly abused his diamond appraisal expertise to remove GIA numbers from the diamonds, re-engrave them with PNJ Laboratory numbers, issue new certificates, and sell them for profit.
According to PNJ’s 2025 corporate governance report, Dang Thi Lai is currently a member of PNJ’s Board of Directors and also serves as Chairwoman and legal representative of P-Lab. Dang Ngoc Thao, the former director of P-Lab, is Lai’s brother.
The corporate governance report states that as of December 31, 2025, Lai and related individuals and entities held approximately 2.89 million PNJ shares, equivalent to about 0.85% of the charter capital. Of this, Lai alone held over 2.05 million shares, while Dang Ngoc Thao held over 327,000 shares.