Sitting quietly alone on the TU-134 plane during the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, Johnathan Hanh Nguyen was immersed in a stream of confused and conflicted thoughts. The images of dilapidated, undulating corrugated iron roofs along the Tan Son Nhat runway; thousands of children dying from lack of medicine… kept lingering in the mind of the diligent financial inspector of Boeing Subcontractor, until he hesitantly stood in front of Prime Minister Pham Van Dong’s office.
Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, do you really believe in destiny?
- Even now, at the age of 73, I still sometimes ask myself that question. If that trip back to the homeland during Tet in 1984 had not happened, if I had not been the "chosen one", how would my life have turned out? But no matter what, my life is definitely tied to the fate of the country.
What motivated you to choose to become a "returned Johnathan Hanh Nguyen" instead of settling down to a safe life with high salaries in the US and the Philippines?
- It was a very long journey. In 1975, the war ended, I was still studying hard and working at an American company. With a high salary, a wife and children living comfortably and comfortably, I never thought of a day when I could return to my homeland. With my parents and siblings still in Vietnam, all communication was based on waiting for each letter that took almost a month to reach them .
Right on the occasion of Tet 1984, suddenly there was a strange call.
- Mr. Hanh Nguyen, do you want to visit your family?
- Yes, sir, but what is it?, I asked again.
- I am at the Vietnam Representative Office at the United Nations. I would like to invite you home.
- If I may... Is it okay to go home?
- We guarantee your safety.
Leaving my young child with relatives in the Philippines, my family of four traveled on separate visas, taking the flight from Seattle - Manila - Bangkok - Ho Chi Minh City. At that time, Air France had a monopoly on the Bangkok - Ho Chi Minh City route, so we had to ask for permission for each flight. The plane landed at Tan Son Nhat, and we all went to our parents' house on Pham Ngu Lao Street.
The whole family was so happy, tears welled up in their eyes. But when we got home, the kids got dengue fever because of the mosquitoes; luckily they survived thanks to the lemon scrub.
Looking at the difficult situation of the country at that time, I could not sleep.
If we only think about ourselves, our lives are very simple. But if we think like that, where is the sacredness of the Fatherland? After all, everyone has only one Motherland, one homeland. I decided to change, to do something for Vietnam, to do something to save the children who are struggling due to lack of medicine like my two children...
What was the "path" that brought you back to Vietnam for the second time?
- As soon as the children recovered from dengue fever, I immediately took my family back to the Philippines. A man from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs came to see me and said: "Okay, you try to bring the children back and then come back."
I arranged my affairs in the US and the Philippines and returned to Vietnam alone. Many people were worried and discouraged me. My family even prepared that if I did not return, someone would contact the US Embassy and the Philippine Government.
You have to accept the fact that at that time there was a lot of fear, the context was not as open, free and favorable as it is now.
But contrary to my imagination, "at home" arranged for me to take the TU-134 plane from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. I asked: "Who am I going to meet?", they said to meet Mr. Pham Van Dong. "What will I do there?". "You will know when you meet me", they replied.
A Volga was waiting, taking us straight to the Democracy Hotel. This was the most special hotel in Hanoi at that time, reserved for hosting high-ranking Soviet expert delegations.
In the afternoon, "they" took me to meet the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now Prime Minister - PV) Pham Van Dong.
This leader, who was known for being strict, held my hand tightly and said: "Vietnam is facing many difficulties now, I need you to help the country open up air routes." "But you are just a Boeing financial inspector, your expertise is finance," I said.
He said: "I have checked the list of overseas Vietnamese in the world, only you are capable of doing this. You must try, find a way for Vietnamese planes to land at the airport in the Philippines. I just hope you do that, let the Government do the rest."
The responsibility is too heavy, too challenging. I promise the Prime Minister that I will try my best.
I understand that at that time, the Philippines had repeatedly rejected Vietnam's request to open an air route. What made you confident in taking on that task?
- The domestic situation at that time was very difficult. If successful, it would be the first official international flight to capitalist countries, and also the first trade activity of Vietnam with countries outside the socialist system during the long years of siege and embargo.
The Philippines is a close ally of the United States, and the application for diplomatic flight permission was almost closed because they did not respond. The situation in the Philippines was also complicated at that time, so getting President Marcos' signature was very important and urgent.
I myself am also very worried. Whether the flight route can be opened or not depends entirely on President Marcos' decision. At this time, the Philippines is under martial law. President Marcos once said that there was no reason to accept the opening of the flight route and the order was not presented again.
Thanks to the connections of my first wife's family (Mrs. Cristina Serrano), the knots were gradually untied and opened. Some of my friends in Philippine politics also wanted to help.
I met Mrs. Leita, the President's assistant, President Marcos's sister-in-law. I said: Now please help me. When you see the President happy, let me know immediately. I will go in and ask for it myself. Mrs. Leita replied: "Because of Johnathan's wishes, I will help."
While waiting for news from Mrs. Leita, I went to meet with the acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Pacificio Castro, to receive the complete set of documents for the request to open the flight route. On September 4, 1985, there was a phone call at home. "Mrs. Leita said: "Johnathan come over right away because he saw the President was very happy this afternoon."
I immediately went to pick up Mr. Tran Tien Vinh, Charge d'Affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy, and drove straight to the Presidential Palace. Seeing me sitting in front of the driver, the guard waved his hand to let me in.
Inside, I begged Mrs. Leita and Mr. Marcos's close bodyguards to go into the President's private room, but no one dared.
I made a last request to everyone, if by any chance the President ordered my arrest, to speak to Mr. Tran Tien Vinh, who was waiting in the reception room of the Presidential Palace, and to tell my wife, Cristina, to inform the Vietnamese Embassy and the American Embassy to send a diplomatic note to the President. After saying that, I walked in with the documents in my arms.
The office was dark. Sweat poured down my face, but I was determined that I would not be arrested. President Marcos looked at the document, pondered for a moment, then signed it and pushed it to me without looking up once.
Seeing the approval, I was so happy that my knees buckled, I couldn't lift my legs. The distance from the President's desk to the door was short but felt like a thousand kilometers. Stepping outside, I was so happy that I ran straight to show Vinh while Mrs. Leita kept shouting from behind, "Johnathan, Johnathan".
In fact, that is the document approved by the President and must be returned to the Office of the President for official publication.
Holding the paper in my hand, I rushed to hug Vinh who was standing there in a daze. Vinh said: "Hanh, you are a national hero". I will always remember that moment.
At about 9:00 a.m. on September 9, 1985, Mr. Phan Tuong, General Director of the Southern Airports Cluster and the crew members landed at Manila airport.
Looking at the two red flags with yellow stars fluttering beside the plane door at the airport, I burst into tears in front of the guests present. That was the happiest and proudest moment of my life.
His journey back to Vietnam began after an invitation to visit home and a meeting with the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. Without that call and invitation, would Johnathan Hanh Nguyen's aspirations and path to wealth in his homeland have changed?
- It will definitely be different.
At that time, I worked as a Financial Inspector for Boeing with a high income, a comfortable life, a car, a house, a warm and happy family. Everything went on peacefully like that, just like many other successful overseas Vietnamese.
One thing is certain, although the path may be different, my love and aspiration for the country will certainly remain unchanged. I will always wait for the day Vietnam opens and develops.
It should also be added that the first flights between Vietnam and the Philippines were all humanitarian flights, carrying only gifts, not passengers or commercial goods. Later, based on the needs of the Ministry of Health and the shortage of medicine to treat patients in Vietnam, I asked for permission to transfer to Vietnam humanitarian medicine boxes containing antibiotics, infusion bottles, and other essential medicines to treat diseases...
A Boeing from the Philippines with all the seats removed carried 32 tons of cargo, and they charged 32,000 USD for each round trip. In the first 3 years (1985-1988), each of our flights only had enough to carry a dozen tons of cargo back to the country, but my company still had to pay the full amount.
When the loss amounted to more than 5 million USD, I had the intention of closing the business. "Home" called, encouraging me to be patient and keep the flight route and keep trying.
Everything went on like that until 1988, I arranged with the parties for the Aviation Agreement to come into being, passenger and cargo flights from Vietnam could connect to countries around the world without being affected by the embargo from the US. I had completed the mission that the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong had entrusted to me.
Becoming one of the first overseas Vietnamese to return to Vietnam to do business, you must have gone a long way to overcome many doubts?
- In 1985, I was one of the first overseas Vietnamese to return to invest in their homeland. At that time, Vietnam began to transform from a centralized, subsidized economy to a market economy, with many difficulties and challenges.
The country is under embargo by the US and many other countries, and the economy is experiencing hyperinflation.
Just applying for an investment and business license requires a complicated and cumbersome process, requiring many administrative procedures. Meanwhile, the legal corridor for business people like me is almost non-existent.
The biggest headache at that time was the lack of information, the unclear legal regulations and implementation procedures at that time, which made it difficult for investors to understand and comply. For example, applying for an investment license to build a hotel in Hanoi and other investment projects in all provinces and cities, each place applied a different type of investment procedure.
I thought I would give up because my international friends who invested with me were discouraged, but in the end, I was able to build the Nha Trang Lodge Hotel, the tallest hotel in the Central region at that time, then a zipper factory and a series of other factories with a total investment of tens of millions of USD.
Once I had confirmed that I would gather all my assets and capital to do business in the country, I patiently tried to overcome barriers and difficulties to exploit the market, investing in industries that the country needed. There were times when I suffered losses and thought I could not survive.
If I had saved up money to buy a house and invest in real estate, I would certainly be the richest person in Vietnam now. But I did not do that. I believe that I have been doing things that go hand in hand with the development of the country, investing in areas that are beneficial to the country and creating jobs for the people, so I have to overcome everything to achieve positive results until today.
So what is your biggest support on your business journey?
- Lean on a rock, the rock will fall, lean on a person, the person will run, only yourself and a clear mind that obeys the law are the most solid support.
It has been more than 38 years since I returned to my country. Up to now, my family's IPPG Group has contributed thousands of billions of VND in taxes to the State budget every year. I can proudly say: I have never done anything that is not permitted by law.
My biggest support is trust, integrity and compliance with the law. If I do something wrong, no matter how many acquaintances I have, no one can save me. I consider this a survival principle in my business, even if the profit may be less.
I may be the earliest person to start a business in Vietnam during the renovation period, but I am not the richest because of this choice.
But in return, I always sleep well every night and am confident about my reputation in the marketplace as well as with partners, customers, ministries, departments and the Vietnamese Government.
To build your name and success as it is today, what is the most memorable failure in your business career?
- Everyone's definition of failure is different. I have never experienced failure in business. Even the huge losses in the early days of reopening the flight route, when looking back, I do not consider it a failure, but just the cost of success.
So what was your best decision?
- It is the steadfast decision to be a decent businessman. You can be a successful businessman but if you are not decent, conscientious, and do not follow business ethics and the law, your success will only be temporary and not sustainable.
And secondly, it is a long-term investment orientation "not speculative" chasing immediate profits, doing business transparently, and complying with the law. As soon as I returned to the country, I outlined a roadmap for the next 10, 20, and 30 years.
In the first 10 years, I focused on building the organization and creating jobs. The first thing I did when I returned home was to invest in hotels. Only with hotels can we attract tourists.
Along with that, I opened a rattan factory and a zipper factory for export in Nha Trang so that workers in the place where I was born have jobs.
In the next 10 years, I will focus on promoting airport services business.
In the third 10-year period, I think Vietnam needs to catch up with the world trend. Any developed country has the presence of luxury goods, big brands. I seek to cooperate with famous fashion brands in the world to distribute domestically.
When tourists come to a country without seeing the presence of big brands, it is difficult to assess it as a potential market.
Now in the fourth 10-year phase, what is your roadmap and plan?
- I started my career in Vietnam by breaking barriers to open air routes and want to reach the ultimate goal of narrowing the development gap between our country and the world. My desire, like many others, is for Vietnam to become a developed country by 2045.
I have talked to many American billionaires about that story. We all believe that Vietnam can even achieve its goal of becoming a developed country 5 years earlier than the set target of 2045.
To achieve that goal, the country needs large resources. In the context of limited domestic capital, attracting foreign capital flows is a crucial task. An international financial center located in Vietnam will be the solution to this problem.
Among the 45 projects that my colleagues and I have researched and submitted to the Government, the international financial center, duty-free zones, free trade zones, and Disneyland amusement parks will be spread across the length of the country. The financial center will be the locomotive, pulling the remaining projects along, creating a boost and contributing to the development of the whole country's economy.
If the establishment of the International Financial Center is approved, major US investors have pledged to pour 10 billion USD into Vietnam, including 5 billion USD to build a financial and entertainment center in Thu Thiem (HCMC).
And once investors have entered Ho Chi Minh City, they certainly will not ignore Hanoi, Da Nang, and Can Tho.
Many people ask, where can we find the human resources to meet the requirements of the International Financial Center? I would like to answer that, when working with large corporations, they have a plan to train high-level human resources for Vietnam, invest and train a complete turnkey package, the training will be carried out in parallel during the 2 years of infrastructure construction, and then Vietnam will have a team of thousands of high-quality human resources to be able to start operating a professional international financial center in Vietnam.
Although those passionate projects have been waiting for procedures for many years, I have strong faith that one day they will be implemented, bringing Vietnam billions of dollars each year, contributing to the prosperity of the country.
I still keep the same mindset from the day I returned, whatever I can do for the country, I must try my best to do.
"Don't ask what your country has done for you, but ask what you have done for your country." This is my favorite saying and my guiding principle in both work and life.
I am very proud to have participated in the country's innovation process very early and more than most Vietnamese entrepreneurs. From the beginning as just a "drop of water", I am very happy that I have now become a "wave" on this journey.
Thank you for the emotional exchange!
Dantri.com.vn
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