Dragon-born entrepreneurs

On the occasion of the Year of the Dragon, Thanh Nien Newspaper knocked on the doors of Vietnamese businessmen born in the year of the Dragon - talented captains who lead, build and make their business ships develop steadily in the days of "big waves and strong winds".

"Female General" Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh: To succeed, you need to commit

At the "CEO 100 Tea connect" program organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, "female general" of REE Joint Stock Company Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh attracted strong attention from international guests when she was invited to speak first. The issue that she is most concerned about is developing a circular economy and a green economy in the context of increasingly serious environmental pollution in cities, especially Ho Chi Minh City. As a business built and developed from the most dynamic city in the country, she expressed her desire for "a Vietnam with a brilliant economic development that is not inferior to any developed country".

Born in the year of the dragon - Nham Thin - and belonging to the stem "Nham", if following the East Asian custom, "men Dinh - Nham, women Quy - Giap", Ms. Mai Thanh seems to be in conflict with the heavenly stems. However, the "female general" of REE Group is known not only as a talented, ambitious, and decisive business manager but also for always making bold decisions, ahead of her time.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh - "female general" of REE

More than 30 years ago, in 1992, as a leader, Ms. Mai Thanh led her enterprise to become the first state-owned enterprise to be equitized and established REE in 1993. REE was also the first enterprise to issue foreign convertible bonds, one of the first two enterprises to be listed on the stock exchange.

Not only successful in the field of refrigeration, each success of the REE ship always has the mark of "a Mai Thanh". Among the businessmen born in the year of the dragon, Ms. Mai Thanh is the "big dragon" but rarely does she show the mark of time because of the enthusiasm of a leader that is always full. "To be successful, you need to be ambitious and dedicated to achieving excellence in what you are doing. To become a special person, you need to have things for people to contemplate".

Businessman Lam An Dau - founder of Vinh Tien Paper Joint Stock Company: People can "change their fate"

The name Lam An Dau easily makes people think that he was born in the year of the rooster. However, he humorously said that people born in the year of Giap Thin are the biggest dragon, the leader of all the dragons of other years.

Coming from a group producing typing paper and Roneo rotary paper, Vinh Tien Paper Company was officially established in mid-1980. But 8 years later, this enterprise launched a student notebook product called "Nhi Nai Notebook" with the image of a cute, lovely little deer, which was quickly welcomed by the market and has been associated with many generations of students since then. Besides the main activity of producing paper and packaging, the company also had to diversify its business areas such as real estate projects, mask production during the Covid-19 pandemic years... This is the "three-legged stool" that he believes, to help the company stand more firmly instead of only walking on one leg.

Mr. Lam An Dau - founder of Vinh Tien Paper Joint Stock Company

Pondering over a cup of coffee on the last days of the year, he said that after more than 40 years, he still has one thing on his mind: how to develop Vietnamese brands well. At the same time, he must do a good job of taking care of and ensuring the lives of his staff. "The dragon is considered a noble and sacred animal, and I am also a bit proud that I was born in the year of the dragon. The path of human life seems to be predetermined. However, each person can still change their fate for the better... That is why I always keep in mind that life is about sharing, not being greedy. Being a businessman or opening a company does not mean getting rich quickly," Mr. Lam An Dau confided.

Entering his 60s, Mr. Dau still feels young and full of enthusiasm. With the current pace of change, life is changing so quickly that he has to change himself to adapt. "If I don't change, I will quickly age and feel left behind," Mr. Lam An Dau shared.

In the new year 2024, the businessman born in the year of the Dragon hopes that the domestic and foreign economies will have less difficulties. Businesses will have a stronger recovery, do better business and create more jobs for thousands of workers.

Mr. Mai Trieu Nguyen - General Director of Mai Nguyen Company Limited: Success is balance

Having just completed a 30-day journey to explore Tibet by large-engine motorbike, the owner of the Mai Nguyen phone and technology equipment retail chain enthusiastically recounted that journey on his personal Vlog channel, attracting thousands of viewers. The Mai Nguyen chain of stores was established 22 years ago, and the young owner is now about to enter his 50s.

For him, the economic recession has caused small stores to large businesses to be swept away by the "storm", even disappearing. The technology equipment retail industry is still on a downward trend, so his company has had to downsize, reduce offline stores and follow the trend of online sales, reviewing products in detail for customers... But thanks to the experience trips by large-displacement motorbikes, he has had the opportunity to expand his business activities related to backpacking, camping, long-distance motorbike riding such as accessories, clothes, hats, tents, camps... "Luckily, I started this new product line more than a year ago and unexpectedly it was quite successful".

Mr. Mai Trieu Nguyen - General Director of Mai Nguyen Company Limited

Born in the year of the Dragon, he himself said that he has never cared, worried or stressed about the upcoming year of his age (49 years old according to the lunar calendar). His plan for next year will still be to travel and experience exciting things both at home and abroad. "Up to this point, I confidently say that success is not having a lot of money, driving a supercar, living in a beautiful villa... but having the life you want. For me, success is having a happy family, having time for myself, and pursuing my passion. Life for me now is a gentle experience," Mr. Mai Trieu Nguyen shared.

Mr. Le Duy Toan - Director of Duy Anh Foods: National pride "shows the way" to start a business

Le Duy Toan is the youngest dragon among the dragons we have knocked on your door this spring. He seemed hesitant when representing the "Dragon of the Year of the Dragon" to share his New Year story with Thanh Nien readers.

Originally from Cu Chi, born and raised in the cradle of the famous traditional rice paper village in the South - Phu Hoa Dong rice paper (Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City), while studying abroad in the US, Duy Toan was stunned when he saw a bag of rice paper on the supermarket shelf labeled "Made in Thailand". "Rice paper for me can only be Vietnamese. Personally, I grew up thanks to that rice paper, I owe the batches of rice paper from my hometown an immeasurable gratitude". So after graduating from school, not caring about having to stay in the US to work as planned when leaving his homeland, he returned to his hometown and started a business from his family's traditional profession.

Buying machines, hiring workers to produce Vietnamese rice paper and vermicelli under the Duy Anh Foods brand, labeling it "made in Vietnam" and confidently looking for ways to export. The first batch of goods were sold to the Japanese, then the Americans... and up to now, Duy Anh Foods' dried products have been present in more than 40 markets around the world . Duy Toan said that national pride was the driving force that made him determined to start a business from his hometown's traditional profession.

Mr. Le Duy Toan - Director of Duy Anh Foods - received the award at the Mekong Connect Forum 2023

In 2022, the watermelon vermicelli dish, the only Vietnamese product displayed at the Innovation Show - Thaifex 2022 (Thailand) and Mr Rice cereal vermicelli at Sial Paris 2022 (France) by the manufacturer Duy Anh Foods, was honored to be the only Vietnamese enterprise to receive 2 innovation awards, among thousands of enterprises from 167 participating countries. However, by the end of 2022, export orders for many product lines decreased sharply, Duy Anh Foods was no exception, at times decreasing by half compared to before the pandemic.

2023 is the year businessman Le Duy Toan travels abroad the most, he said, mainly to... attend international fairs to find new customers. 2023 is also the year of his age, but for Duy Toan, this will be the year that the difficulties of the past year will be put aside. "Let's just hope that next year will be the time to "reap" what we have sown diligently in the past year..." - Le Duy Toan said simply.

Dragon-born entrepreneurs

That's him Dang Thanh Tam (Giap Thin - 1964), the owner of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation (KBC), Saigon Telecommunications Technology Corporation (SGT)... Mr. Dang Thanh Tam was once ranked as the richest person on the Vietnamese stock exchange in 2007. Mr. Ho Xuan Nang (Giap Thin - 1964), was Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Phuong Hoang Xanh A&A Group Joint Stock Company (PHENIKAA Group), Chairman of Vicostone Joint Stock Company. Mr. Nang was also in the top 10 richest people on the Vietnamese stock exchange for many years. Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuy (Binh Thin - 1976), Chairman of Xuan Thanh Group, a businessman known by many people by the nickname "Mr. Thuy" when he used to be the boss of 2 football teams: Saigon Xuan Thanh (national championship) and Thai Son Quang Nam Insurance (first division)...

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