Businessman Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, Chairman of IPPG: Determined to "break barriers" with international financial centers

The time is ripe

For a “boss” in the field of designing integrated resorts in the world like Paul Steelman, General Director of Steelman Partner, having a representative office in Vietnam over the years is truly a blessing. When witnessing Vietnam’s rapid development while still preserving its traditional cultural beauty…, he cannot help but place high expectations on the resilience of this beautiful country.

Steelman Partner has completed more than 4,000 integrated entertainment and resort projects in many countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Russia, Switzerland, Australia, Italy... He has designed many integrated resorts around the world, many of which have the participation of Bill Weidner, former Chairman of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Eight years ago, Paul Steelman came up with the idea with Howard Lutnick of Cantor Fitzgerald, Johnathan Hanh Nguyen of IPPG and Bill Weidner of Las Vegas Sands Corp to build a Singapore-style financial center and resort in Vietnam.

As one of the first overseas Vietnamese businessmen to return to the country, Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen invested and established Imex Pan Pacific Import Export Company Limited (currently IPPG Group).

Under his leadership, IPPG has invested or co-invested in 30 projects with a total capital of more than 450 million USD.

Domestic projects alone have brought in nearly 1 billion USD in revenue, creating more than 25,000 jobs for Vietnamese workers.

“We believe that the integrated financial center and resort project that we design and develop in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City in the future will be the best project in the world, completely changing foreign investment and tourism activities throughout Vietnam,” Mr. Paul Steelman shared.

Mr. Paul Steelman believes that new regulations and policies will allow investors around the world to pour billions of dollars into Vietnam, not only in the financial center and integrated resorts, but also in other business areas across the country, helping Vietnam realize its amazing future.

Meanwhile, Mr. Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, through Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, worked with the Vietnamese Government to gain a thorough understanding of what a favorable investment environment is like. “It is understandable that if a suitable legal system is created, investors will enjoy a favorable investment environment. Companies in the US like us and some other countries will of course choose to come to Vietnam when the investment environment is favorable,” Mr. Howard Lutnick affirmed.

Together with his associates, Mr. Barney Reynolds, representative of the international law firm Sherman and Sterling (headquartered in London - UK specializing in building global financial institutions) also wants to support the project of building two new financial centers in Vietnam to make Vietnam an attractive location for financial business activities in the Southeast Asian region. "Vietnam is recognized by a series of international organizations and experts as a country ready for significant breakthroughs in the coming years," Mr. Barney Reynolds shared.

Sharing the same view with businessman Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, partners and investment consultants all believe that a lot of work has been done to modernize the economy and now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities. However, the success of any financial sector and financial center depends heavily on laws and regulations that provide the necessary support for the market to innovate while ensuring that financial activities are conducted safely.

In an increasingly competitive environment, there are a large number of competing financial districts attracting banks, businesses and institutions. Therefore, legal regulations are essential to ensure an attractive, reliable and robust legal and regulatory system.

A good legal system should not only comply with international standards and good practices, but also be carefully designed based on the needs and interests of the majority of market participants. This also allows private sectors to invest with confidence and seriousness in their expectations of a financial center.

There is a race among potential countries around the world to build attractive policy mechanisms and legal regulations to attract and retain investors. In that context, building an international financial center in Vietnam is an important long-term strategy, not only to attract financial resources, but also to raise Vietnam's position on the global economic map.

Vietnam lacks a clear overall strategy for developing an international financial center. The lack of a long-term and consistent plan for building policy mechanisms and a development roadmap creates uncertainty for large investors who want to participate early in this market.

Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen revealed that 2 years ago, if approved, the US investor had committed to initially invest about 10 billion USD in Vietnam, of which 4 billion USD in Da Nang and 6 billion USD in Ho Chi Minh City, to build an international financial center. This partly shows that the efforts of him and his colleagues are faltering. If they continue to be slow, Vietnam will lose a great opportunity to accelerate to become a developed country by 2045.

“We have received comments from all levels, departments and branches and made appropriate amendments, but so far there has been no further progress. I believe that investors need a more open and innovative mechanism. They need a commitment from the Government and a clear strategy to see that this is a sustainable and potential plan,” Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen expected.

A lifetime of debt of love

Partners who share the same vision with 73-year-old businessman Johnathan Hanh Nguyen believe that Vietnamese people have enormous energy and enthusiasm for business. Anyone can feel that when coming to this country. Therefore, together with Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, they also devote all their efforts to help Vietnam create a location, build urban areas, and create a competitive investment environment for international business activities.

Businessman Johnathan Hanh Nguyen has a lifelong debt of love for his homeland. He is also a pioneer in opening air routes connecting Vietnam with the world. At the time of opening the first air route from Vietnam to the Philippines (Ho Chi Minh City - Manila on September 9, 1985), Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen was just 35 years old.

To operate in the market, entrepreneurs need to have bold, innovative thinking, overcome barriers... In terms of business operations, it is necessary to coordinate 3 factors: speed, adaptability and cooperation. In particular, it is necessary to find suitable cooperation opportunities with partners, distributors, and even competitors.

What makes a person who has a peaceful life with a high-income, stable job dare to take the risk of opening a unique flight route, trading it with his own safety? He said, if you only know yourself and do not dare to take the risk, then who will you wait for? When the Fatherland needs you, you must always be there. All of that comes from the two words "homeland".

In particular, there were two things that Mr. Tran Quynh, then Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, advised that Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen only understood much later. That is, when doing business in Vietnam, one must be patient and persistent; one must do things according to the law and regulations, then the Party, the State, the government, and the people will stand behind and protect one.

Indeed, when Vietnam begins to open up, it will inevitably encounter problems and conflicts, so we must be patient and persistent in maintaining the flight route. Back then, just to maintain the flight route, in 3 years, he gritted his teeth and suffered a loss of 5 million USD. But if he closes the flight route because of the immediate loss, all his efforts will be in vain. Investing in Vietnam involves many regulations and legal issues that have not yet been addressed. If we do not take care of ourselves, it is easy to go astray...

Now, at the age of 73, the mindset, passion, and determination to “break the barrier” are once again being implemented by Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen with the development of an international financial center in Vietnam. Although everything has not been finalized, he has always kept that advice in mind and followed it for the past 40 years. For him, being a son who loves his country and being a decent businessman is the destination in life.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/doanh-nhan-johnathan-hanh-nguyen-chu-tich-ippg-quyet-tam-pha-rao-voi-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-d227133.html