Vietnam's richest stock millionaires and their big dreams
Many of the richest businessmen in the stock market started at very low starting point. However, they have gained big achievements.
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What does a ‘big dream’ mean? Truong Gia Binh, president of FPT, the largest Vietnamese information technology group, said startups not only target the Vietnamese market with a population of 90 million and the ASEAN market with 600 million consumers, but also aim for the 7 billion people all over the globe.
Pham Nhat Vuong, the first Vietnamese dollar billionaire, started his business with a food shop in Ukraine, where many Vietnamese lived in the 1990s.
After getting married, he moved to Kharkov City, borrowed US$10,000 and left for Kiev, where he opened another food shop called Vietnam Thang Long.
With the money borrowed from Vietnamese friends and relatives, in 1993 he began making instant noodles with Mivina brand, potato powder and soup.
Vuong said in 1997-1998, he dreamed of earning US$2 million before retirement. However, he later changed his mind, returning to Vietnam to do business in the home country.
His Vingroup is now one of the largest Vietnamese conglomerates, investing in many business fields.
Tran Dinh Long, chair of Hoa Phat Group, set up his business, an equipment and part trading company, when he was around 30.
Since August 1992, Hoa Phat has been expanding its operation, jumping into the fields of real estate, refrigeration engineering and steel.
After 20 years of development, Hoa Phat is now one of the largest privately run Vietnamese groups.
The story about Doan Nguyen Duc, chair of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, is well known to Vietnamese, because he could only pass the university entrance exam after three tries.
However, Duc decided to give up study at the agriculture university.
Later, he set up a small production workshop, making tables and chairs for students. As he met a Taiwanese businessman who was looking for partners to set up a joint venture, Duc decided to set up Hoang Anh Pleiku Private Enterprise, specializing in making wooden products for export.
Since 2000, Hoang Anh Pleiku has been expanding its business. It has changed its name to Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group.
Le Phuoc Vu, president of Hoa Sen group, started his business with a corrugated iron shop worth 0.2 taels of gold in 1994, and then opened a small production workshop in 1997.
After 20 years of development, Hoa Sen has become a leading privately run enterprise.
