Dragon 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, the "female general" of REE Joint Stock Company Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh attracted strong attention from international guests when she was invited to give the first speech. 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 always has bold decisions, ahead of the times.

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 bears the mark of "a Mai Thanh". Among the businessmen born in the year of the dragon, Ms. Mai Thanh is the "big dragon" but it is rare to see the mark of time in her because of the enthusiasm of a leader who 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. In addition to its main activities 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 will help the company stand firmer instead of standing on only 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 an animal considered noble and sacred, 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. Not everyone who becomes a businessman or opens a company will get 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 age quickly 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 recover more strongly, 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 chain of mobile phone and technology equipment retail stores enthusiastically recounted that journey on his personal Vlog channel, attracting thousands of viewers. The Mai Nguyen chain of stores has been established for 22 years, 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 disappear. 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 or worried 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 domestically and internationally. "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 fulfilling 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 knocked on the door to welcome in the new year. He seemed hesitant when representing the "Dragon of the Year of the Dragon" to share the story of the beginning of the year with Thanh Nien readers.

Originally from Cu Chi, born and raised right 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 he left his homeland, he returned to his hometown, starting a business from his family's traditional profession.

Buying machines, hiring workers to produce rice paper and Vietnamese vermicelli under the Duy Anh Foods brand, labeling it "made in Vietnam" to confidently seek export routes. The first batch of goods were sold to the Japanese, then the Americans... and to date, 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, watermelon vermicelli, the only Vietnamese product displayed at the Innovation Show - Thaifex 2022 (Thailand) and Mr Rice cereal vermicelli at Sial Paris 2022 (France) by 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 industries 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 his year of birth, but for Duy Toan, this will be the year when 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 entrepreneurs

That's him. Dang Thanh Tam (Giap Thin - 1964), 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 "Bau 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)...

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-doanh-nhan-tuoi-rong-185240210012030569.htm