Pham Thu Huong, chairwoman of GSM. Photo courtesy of Vingroup

Huong, 57, who has a master’s degree in international law from Ukraine, is one of the founders and vice chairwoman of Vingroup, the largest listed private company in the country. She owns a 4.4% stake in Vingroup.

In early February U.S. business magazine Forbes recognized her as a billionaire, and her net worth has since grown to US$2.9 billion.

Initially GSM mainly operated in ride-hailing before expanding into services such as food delivery, parcel delivery, inner-city transportation, and car and electric motorbike rental. It uses only vehicles produced by VinFast, another company controlled by Vuong.

Xanh SM is now present in 34 provinces and cities across Vietnam and countries like Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Huong’s appointment as GSM chairwoman comes as the company aims to expand its operations, with plans to enter 10 new countries this year.

A report by India-based market researcher Mordor Intelligence said GSM has a 51.5% share of Vietnam’s four-wheel ride-hailing market as measured by gross merchandise value.

The company has risen to become the market leader, surpassing competitors like Grab and Be.