Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This article examines the opaque role of PNJ-LAP within PNJ’s value chain, highlighting how a single subsidiary’s alleged involvement in diamond smuggling underscores the critical link between certification integrity and market trust.
The audited consolidated financial statements of PNJ do not break down the operating performance of PNJ-LAP, but the consolidated figures for 2025 show the role of manufacturing, inspection, and quality control links in the jewelry value chain. The case of the PNJ-LAP director, accused of participating in a diamond smuggling network, further demonstrates how certification documents can determine market trust.
Therefore, PNJ-LAP, a subsidiary within the ecosystem of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ), plays a special role in the business model of this major jewelry company. The report indicates that PNJ-LAP, or PNJ Jewelry Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNJ, primarily engaged in the manufacturing and trading of jewelry. This role is reinforced by the 2025 business results. While PNJ’s consolidated net revenue in 2025 decreased year-on-year from VND 37,822.8 billion to VND 34,976.0 billion, gross profit increased from VND 6,673.5 billion to VND 7,683.8 billion. Consequently, the gross profit margin rose significantly, from approximately 17.64% in 2024 to about 21.97% in 2025. This is a crucial point for understanding the role of PNJ-LAP.
TPO – Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) recorded record growth in the first quarter of this year. Its diamond jewelry buyback policy has attracted attention, as it only repurchases at 80% of the original invoice value, regardless of fluctuations in gold prices or the diamond’s market value.
Dang Ngoc Thao is the director of PNJ Appraisal Company Limited (PNJ-LAP), a subsidiary of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ). In connection with this matter, this morning (July 3), Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) published a notice on its official website regarding the investigation of Mr. Dang Ngoc Thao, former director of PNJ LAP Company, a PNJ subsidiary, for smuggling activities.
In the jewelry industry, the value of a diamond lies not only in its brilliance, but also in the certificate that accompanies it, the trust in the analysis laboratory, and the seller’s ability to guarantee that the product is accurately identified and reflects its true value.
According to PNJ’s financial and management reports, PNJ-LAP is a 100% owned subsidiary of PNJ, operating in the field of technical inspection, analysis, and appraisal of high-value products such as diamonds, gold, silver, precious metals, gemstones, semi-precious stones, minerals, colored stones, and marble.
PNJ Appraisal Company Limited (PNG-LAP), established on December 16, 2010, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNJ with a charter capital of VND 10 billion. Its main activity is technical inspection and analysis, including appraisal services for diamonds, gold, gold alloys, silver, precious metals, non-ferrous metals, gems, semi-precious stones, minerals, and gold content analysis services.
In PNJ’s value chain, PNJ-LAP certification can be compared to a product’s ‘birth certificate.’ This certification is one of the important bases for customers to trust high-value jewelry products and make purchasing decisions in the retail sector.
According to PNJ’s 2025 Corporate Governance Report, PNJ-LAP is currently chaired by Ms. Dang Thi Lai, who is also the legal representative of PNG-LAP. PNJ’s financial statements show that Ms. Dang Thi Lai is currently a non-executive member of PNJ’s Board of Directors.
Before Ms. Lai, the chairperson and legal representative was Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Thao. Ms. Thao served as chairperson and legal representative of PNJ-LAP from February 2022 to February 2025. Before Ms. Thao, the company’s chairperson and legal representative was Mr. Le Huu Hanh. Currently, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Thao is the Vice Chairperson of PNJ’s Board of Directors. Ms. Thao is also the daughter of Ms. Cao Thi Ngoc Dung, Chairperson of PNJ’s Board of Directors, and Mr. Tran Phuong Binh, who was imprisoned for his involvement in irregularities at Dong A Bank.
According to PNJ’s 2025 financial report, the individual performance of PNJ-LAP is not disclosed. Since it is a consolidated report, revenue, profits, and internal transactions between the parent company and subsidiaries are not presented separately. However, the role of units within the PNJ ecosystem can be seen through the group’s operating structure and its consolidated performance.