Vietnam businessmen who cherish ‘billion-dollar dream’
A lot of Vietnamese businessmen nurture plans to ‘do big business’. Some of them have succeeded, while others have tasted failure, but they do not give up, still awaiting new opportunities.
This year’s shareholders’ meeting is believed to be quite different from the last year’s dull meeting.
Hoa Phat gained revenue growth rate of 8% compared with 2014 amid massive imports of Chinese low-cost steel products which caused many other steel manufacturers to suffer. With revenue of VND28 trillion, or US$1.25 billion, Hoa Phat is listed among the limited number of companies with revenue of over US$1 billion.
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| A lot of Vietnamese businessmen nurture plans to ‘do big business’ |
Masan Group of Nguyen Dang Quang, one of the top 100 stock millionaires, made a big leap in 2015 with turnover soaring to VND32 trillion, or US$1.4 billion, from VND18 trillion in 2014.
Masan makes money from investments in many business fields. Consumer goods alone brought VND14 trillion, while minerals brought VND2.7 trillion.
The Gioi Di Dong, the largest computing device distribution chain of Nguyen Duc Tai, a newly emerging businessman, has reported revenue of VND25 trillion, or US$1.1 billion, which represents a growth rate of 62%.
Vinamilk, the nation’s leading dairy producer managed by Mai Kieu Lien, is a member of the ‘billion dollar club’ for the fifth consecutive year. The company had turnover of VND36 trillion, or US$1.6 billion in 2015, higher than VND32 trillion in the year before.
Like Vinamilk, Truong Gia Binh’s FPT Group, the largest information technology group, got VND38.6 trillion, or US$1.7 billion in 2015 and for the fifth consecutive year got more than US$1 billion.
Meanwhile, other powerful conglomerates still cannot fulfill their ‘billion dollar dream’ though they have been leading the industries for years.
Minh Phu Seafood Company of president Le Van Quang, who is called ‘Vietnamese Shrimp King’, experienced the toughest year 2015 in the last decade with the revenue down by 24% to VND12 trillion and the modest profit of VND25 billion.
The decreased revenue limits Minh Phu’s dream. It has set up a target of obtaining VND20 trillion in revenue in 2016, but analysts said it will still need some more luck to become a member of the ‘billion dollar club’.
Minh Phu, which is now striving for a sustainable development model, has invested in a closed production chain, from farming to processing and export. However, analysts commented that this is the reason why Minh Phu has been slowing down.
There is one feature that most of the enterprises joining the ‘billion dollar club’ have in common: they mostly target the domestic market.
