Innovation, autonomy, and decisiveness – Commonalities in nearly 50 years of development between Ho Chi Minh City and Vinamilk.

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - “Vinamilk will always uphold the innovative, decisive, and self-reliant spirit of Ho Chi Minh City to continue strengthening the dairy industry and contributing to national development.” This was shared by Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, General Director of Vinamilk, at an event honoring 50 outstanding businesses and organizations with key brands and products of the city.

On the afternoon of April 15th, a seminar and awards ceremony honoring 50 outstanding businesses and organizations with key brands and products of Ho Chi Minh City was held at the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Southern Vietnam and the reunification of the country.

At an event themed "Journey of Creation - Reaching New Heights," Vinamilk's CEO, Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, shared insights into the company's journey from humble beginnings to becoming the 6th largest dairy brand globally and the 36th largest dairy company in the world by revenue. Throughout this journey, Vinamilk's milestones have coincided with the transformative changes and advancements of the city.

" Thanks to its innovative, decisive, and self-reliant policies, Vinamilk has grown alongside the city."

This is how Ms. Mai Kieu Lien began her presentation at the event, speaking from the perspective of a leading business in the city. With a mission to address post-war child malnutrition and meet the diverse nutritional needs of all citizens, Vinamilk was established in 1976 by taking over two abandoned factories in the area. It was during this period that Vinamilk understood the hardships the city faced in the early days after liberation, particularly the shortage of raw materials. Using her specialized knowledge in dairy processing, acquired from training in Russia, Ms. Lien and her colleagues creatively found ways to maintain operations and ensure the livelihoods of their employees.

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien – CEO of Vinamilk – shared her thoughts at the seminar themed “Creating – Reaching New Heights” within the framework of the awards ceremony.

During the early stages of Vietnam's economic reforms – originating in Ho Chi Minh City – Vinamilk also began to develop. Notably, given the slow start of the Vietnamese dairy industry, Vinamilk had a strategic vision to become self-sufficient in fresh milk production from domestic dairy herds. Together with Ho Chi Minh City, Vinamilk launched the "white revolution" in the early 1990s, initiating the dairy farming movement in Cu Chi and Hoc Mon districts, which then spread to other provinces and cities nationwide.

Vinamilk's "captain" proudly shared that the Vietnamese dairy industry originated in Ho Chi Minh City. The livestock farming movement and the first factories there formed the initial foundation for Vinamilk to develop a network of 15 large-scale, modern dairy farms and a system of 16 internationally certified factories both domestically and abroad. Not only the business model and financial resources, but also human resources such as engineers and dairy experts were trained by Vinamilk in Ho Chi Minh City to develop the dairy industry nationwide.

The "White Revolution" originated in Ho Chi Minh City, providing the initial foundation for Vinamilk to develop a system of 15 internationally standardized farms both domestically and abroad.

The system of 16 factories, meeting the highest standards in the dairy industry, was developed using resources and personnel trained in Ho Chi Minh City.

A significant milestone mentioned by Ms. Lien, highlighting the close collaboration between Vinamilk and Ho Chi Minh City, was the initial phase of the company's equitization. In 2003, with the decisive leadership and vision of the management team under Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, Vinamilk was equitized. Subsequently, in 2006, the stock code "VNM" was officially listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE), with an estimated market capitalization nearly half of the total market capitalization at that time.

It can be said that this is not only a significant milestone for Vinamilk but also a successful example of Ho Chi Minh City's innovative policies. By the end of 2024, Vinamilk's market capitalization reached $5.2 billion, an increase of more than 50 times compared to the initial valuation of $100 million at the time of listing. The company has contributed over VND 19,750 billion to Ho Chi Minh City's budget, out of a total contribution of VND 63,712 billion to the national budget from the time of listing to the first quarter of 2025. In 2023 and 2024 alone, the amount contributed to Ho Chi Minh City's budget exceeded VND 1,000 billion each year.

“In 50 years of development, Ho Chi Minh City can be said to be the cradle of dynamism and creativity. Many policies and mechanisms pioneered by Ho Chi Minh City have later been adopted nationwide to unleash innovation and create great opportunities for businesses to develop. It is thanks to this innovation, decisiveness, and self-reliance that Vinamilk has become a multinational corporation today,” Ms. Lien affirmed.

A shared vision of becoming "better and better."

Also at the event, representing over half a million businesses in the area, Vinamilk was proud to be selected as one of the 50 outstanding businesses and organizations of Ho Chi Minh City in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Vietnam.

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien, representing Vinamilk, received the award recognizing it as one of the Top 50 outstanding businesses and organizations in Ho Chi Minh City from the city's leaders.

Speaking about the honored businesses, Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc – Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City – assessed: “More and more businesses in the city are expanding and participating in key projects; small and medium-sized enterprises are striving to become large enterprises; large enterprises are developing further, with greater scale, potential, and competitiveness, and are beginning to lead in some key and crucial industries and sectors, reaching international levels. You are a source of inspiration, strongly spreading your influence to the city's business community.”

Considering these aspects, Vinamilk is one of the large, pioneering enterprises with a spirit of innovation and creativity, inspiring a fierce determination to "renew itself," transforming strongly alongside Ho Chi Minh City and the country as it enters a new era.

“Just like the city, Vinamilk’s burning aspiration is to do better and better every day. Better in business efficiency, better in branding, better in the lives of our employees, and to contribute more to the country. We pass that flame on to the current generation of Vinamilk’s young employees, so that we can make the brand shine even brighter, both domestically and internationally ,” Ms. Lien emphasized.

Vinamilk's products have been exported to 63 countries and territories.

With its cutting-edge technologies and the highest standards in the dairy industry, Vinamilk is raising the bar for the Vietnamese dairy industry.

A prime example is the impressive transformation of this billion-dollar brand, which began in 2023. Vinamilk not only completely revamped its brand and packaging, but also innovated its approach to consumers, bringing world-leading standards and technologies to Vietnam, creating a "new playing field" for the nutritional product market. With these impressive innovations, Vinamilk proudly led the "Vietnamese milk" brand to conquer 63 international markets, building a dairy industry independently managed by Vietnamese people and recognized globally.

NL

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/doi-moi-tu-chu-va-quyet-liet--diem-chung-trong-gan-50-nam-phat-trien-cua-tp-hcm-va-vinamilk-245918.htm