Vietnamese businessmen past and present

Talented national capitalists of the early 20th century

Right from the end of the 19th century, the beginning of the 20th century, when the French began to exploit the colony, building a series of bridges and roads, Mr. Bach Thai Buoi knew how to contribute capital with the French, providing raw materials for the largest railway line in Indochina at that time, starting with the historic Long Bien bridge. With increasing capital, not willing to let money idle, he established a company, boldly changed direction to rent 3 ships, exploiting 2 waterways.

Nowadays, Vietnamese business owners are very clear about their strategies for the "live money" and "dead money" flows, not letting goods and raw materials stagnate, and trying to push the "live money" flow to generate as much profit as possible. However, in the early 20th century, when business was entirely in the hands of Western merchants, Mr. Bach Thai Buoi's "let money make money" thinking was very bold, helping him soon become a wealthy merchant, among the "four giants" of Indochina.

Rice products of Vietnamese enterprises introduced at international fairs

In 1940, Mr. Trinh Van Bo was considered one of the richest people in Hanoi, regularly trading with famous merchants in the Indochina region, owning a textile factory, many real estates...

After 10 years, Mr. Bach Thai Buoi owned nearly 30 large and small ships and barges running most of the Northern river routes, on 17 domestic and international shipping routes, reaching as far as Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, China, Singapore... In particular, there were 6 ships of the French shipping company that went bankrupt, which he bought back and named: Lac Long, Hong Bang, Trung Trac, Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Loi, Ham Nghi. The naming of the ships itself proved that this merchant had a great sense of national pride. Therefore, the name "king of ships" Bach Thai Buoi was recorded in the legend alongside the patriotic capitalists of the nation in the early 20th century.

Also during this period, Vietnam witnessed the introduction of many light industries from the French such as: shipbuilding, metallurgy, painting... In order to serve the purpose of expanding the colony and gaining dominance in Indochina, the French implemented many projects to build roads and houses during this period, so the demand for purchasing construction materials also increased.

Vietnamese Goods Week in Thailand 2023

Mr. Nguyen Son Ha was the first Vietnamese businessman to see a big business opportunity in the paint industry when he was an employee of a French paint company in Hai Phong . He learned about Western paint making techniques, read Western books, did research and started a business with a paint store, took on painting houses and painting signs. Gradually, he quietly created his own paint products. At the age of 26, businessman Nguyen Son Ha was the owner of Gecko Paint Company in Hai Phong. However, the goods had no brand name and it was difficult to compete with the French, so he immediately became a distributor for a French paint company and quickly brought his Résistanco brand paint to the whole country through the sales system of this French paint company.

Nowadays, it is very normal for a Vietnamese businessman to say that whoever controls the distribution system wins. However, in the early 20th century, Mr. Nguyen Son Ha "beat the French" with this mindset, which is the thinking of a person with smart and talented business qualities in his blood.

Many Vietnamese enterprises have successfully brought Vietnamese products and brands to the international market.

If Mr. Bach Thai Buoi or Mr. Nguyen Son Ha were the pride of Vietnamese merchants in the early years of the 20th century, when Vietnam was still a colony, then the noble deeds of merchants Ngo Tu Ha, Do Dinh Thien, Trinh Van Bo... who donated all their huge assets to the country were also touching and respectful. Before the August Revolution, the famous Ngo Tu Ha printing house in Hanoi was a benefactor of patriotic intellectuals who wanted to print books and newspapers. This printing house had for many years quietly supported the printing of books, newspapers, documents, and leaflets supporting the Viet Minh in the years before 1945. Then the first banknotes of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which people used to call "Uncle Ho's silver coins", were also produced from the Ngo Tu Ha printing house.

In particular, after 1945, when the new Government's need for printing money increased, another patriotic capitalist, Mr. Do Dinh Thien, spent money to buy back the French printing house and donated it to the Government to set up a printing house at his family's plantation in Hoa Binh in 1946. However, he and his family chose a very simple life, not staying in the capital Hanoi to live. After 1945, he abandoned all his property and assets in the capital, brought his family and two young children to Viet Bac, accompanied the Revolution for 9 years of long-term resistance and handed over the printing house to the Hanoi City Resistance Committee.

Or in the case of the family and national capitalist Trinh Van Bo, during the Golden Week launched by President Ho Chi Minh in September 1945, Mr. Bo's family donated to the Revolution up to 5,000 taels of gold, more than 90% of the family's assets, nearly double the Government treasury at that time. During this Golden Week, the owner of the Gecko paint company, Nguyen Son Ha, and his wife and children also took off all their gold and silver jewelry, which weighed 10.5 kg, to contribute to the Revolution.

Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in the New Era

Today, Vietnam is an independent, integrated country and an open economy, talented businessmen such as national capitalists Bach Thai Buoi, Ngo Tu Ha, Nguyen Son Ha... are increasingly numerous and have positioned their brands in the world market. That is VinFast, a Vietnamese car brand, listed on the US stock exchange and in fact, the ecosystem of VinGroup Corporation founded by businessman Pham Nhat Vuong, has so far built many big brands in the fields of health, education, science... In particular, the VinFuture Fund, founded and sponsored by Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong and his wife, has been in existence for 3 years. The core activity of the Fund is to organize the VinFuture Prize - the first global science and technology award initiated by Vietnamese people and one of the most valuable annual awards in the world. After 2 seasons, 16 scientists have been honored. In 2022, the VinFuture Prize worth 3 million USD was awarded to the invention of global network technology connection, laying the foundation for modern economic and social development.

VinFast listed on Nasdaq stock exchange, USA

In the field of technology, especially semiconductor technology, which Vietnam is hoping to attract foreign capital for development, FPT University under FPT Group, chaired by businessman Truong Gia Binh, has announced the establishment of the Semiconductor Microchip Faculty to supplement the shortage of high-quality human resources in Vietnam. In 2022, FPT announced the establishment of FPT Semiconductor Microchip Design and Manufacturing Company and can now mass produce. The group's plan for the next 2 years is to supply 25 million chips globally. In fact, Mr. Truong Gia Binh has brought the FPT brand to the US market since 2008 and has become a partner of more than 300 customers worldwide, including more than 30 companies on the Fortune 500 list. Recently, at the Vietnam - US Summit on Innovation, FPT also said it would invest 100 million USD and nearly 1,000 employees in the US by the end of this year. With this new investment, FPT aims to achieve billion-dollar revenue from the US market by 2030.

At the end of September, Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk), with businesswoman Mai Kieu Lien as General Director, signed a memorandum of understanding with two leading enterprises in the field of distribution and import of milk and agricultural products in China to bring products to this billion-people market. Vinamilk is the first Vietnamese powdered milk exporter present in the Middle East market with the Dielac brand. Vinamilk is also one of the pioneering investors investing abroad in branches in the US, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, etc. Building factories in other countries is not only the success of a brand, but also the mark of the Vietnamese dairy industry in the journey to conquer and bring "made in Vietnam" milk products to the world.

Similarly, Trung Nguyen Coffee Joint Stock Company of businessman Dang Le Nguyen Vu with the Trung Nguyen Legend brand is continuing to increase its presence in developed countries and is soon attracting the attention of coffee lovers. On September 29, the first coffee shop under the Trung Nguyen Legend brand was opened in Little Saigon (California, USA). Thus, the US is the second largest market that Trung Nguyen Legend has set foot in, after China. Previously, Mr. Dang Le Nguyen Vu's group attracted attention when it appeared in Shanghai (China) in September 2022 and July 2023. Just 6 months after opening in Shanghai, where there are hundreds of large and small coffee brands from China and the world, Trung Nguyen Legend has entered the top coffee shops in Shanghai in the "Must try" category or the top 1 "hottest" coffee shop on West Nanjing Road on the number 1 application for reviewing services and dining locations, Dazhongdianpin.

Trung Nguyen Coffee at a major fair in China

Businessman Dang Le Nguyen Vu has set an ambition to increase the scale of franchising in the Chinese market to 1,000 stores. Before China and the US, the company has successfully franchised in Singapore, Japan and in the near future may open stores in Korea...

Over the years, in the international arena, Vinamit dried jackfruit, Phuc Sinh pepper, Hung Vuong seafood... have continuously made waves, standing firmly in many large markets. The path to the world of Vietnamese enterprises and Vietnamese brands is increasingly open and bustling.

Without strong Vietnamese businesses, it is difficult for eagles to come and nest.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Manh Quan, Director of the Institute for Enterprise Development Research, commented that the growth of the business community this year has been greatly affected by a "fragmented world". War, recession, epidemics... some of which have occurred several years ago, and their penetration has become even greater now. The most obvious impact is the decrease in exports, the freezing of real estate... Therefore, talented businessmen, who were very good at building financial infrastructure for businesses, had prestige in the world financial market... also encountered many difficulties. They even suffered a lot of pressure to maintain their position and reputation in the domestic market as well as abroad, forced to sell some shares, even sell all of them to operate and develop. That is very regrettable. But the resilience of businessmen in these difficult times is something we must cherish and appreciate.

"If we continue to be immersed in the sadness of a fragmented world, we should take the initiative to create and move towards a brighter future. Many businesses in the past have been a bit wasteful by not taking the opportunity to "shake up" their teams, perfect their systems, streamline and improve their human resource training... to find new opportunities," Mr. Quan suggested.

According to Mr. Quan, the Government has had timely policies, especially regarding capital policies for businesses. However, the situation of "hot above, cold below" makes many businesses impatient.

"We talk a lot about attracting foreign investment into Vietnam, about domestic enterprises having the opportunity to participate in the global supply chain. However, what exactly have we been helping these enterprises with limited capital, with excess enthusiasm and ambition?", Mr. Quan raised the question and said that the quality of international investors investing in Vietnamese private enterprises is increasingly improving. These dynamic private enterprises are the important reason for prestigious financial groups in the world, large investment funds with world prestige to appear and set up in Vietnam. Without strong Vietnamese enterprises, it is difficult for "eagles" from other countries to fly in easily. Therefore, accompanying and supporting domestic enterprises to overcome difficulties and improve their position domestically and internationally must be considered urgent and drastic work, not scattered as it is now.

In reality, due to the lack of business development, even deadlock, many businesses are not very enthusiastic, losing their enthusiasm. This silence creates many disadvantages for the overall development. We need to look back and quickly take advantage of this time to improve capacity, train human resources to prepare for the upcoming period.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Manh Quan , Director of the Institute for Enterprise Development Research

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