Vietjet’s President and CEO Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo. Photo courtesy of Vietjet

HCM CITY -- Vietjet’s president and CEO Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo has been named in Forbes' list of 100 most powerful women in 2019, following her inclusion on the list of Asia’s most powerful women.

With the recognition, Vietjet's leader is the only woman representing Việt Nam in the list for three consecutive years.

According to Forbes, as of December 13, 2019, the estimated assets of the self-made billionaire are around US$2.7 billion, which makes her also the only female Vietnamese in Forbes’ dollar billionaire list. She also chairs a multi-sector Sovico Group, HDBank and many real estate businesses.

New-aged carrier Vietjet, run by Thảo, is looking to further grow its business overseas with the continuous flight network expansion from Viêt Nam to India, Japan,  South Korea, mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The airline is well on track to reach the milestone of 100 million total passengers in December.

The world’s most powerful women list, announced by Forbes, include women in business, finance, media, politics, social / philanthropic / NGO and technology. The annual ranking is based on multiple categories such as asset quality, media exposure, segment and international influence.

The No1 in Forbes’s list in 2019 is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde and Speaker of the US House of Representative Nancy Pelosi. -- VNS