Chairman of Vietnam's leading corp. BIM Group passes away

Doan Quoc Viet, chairman and founder of BIM Group, one of Vietnam's largest multi-sector corporations, died on Thursday at the age of 70.

Under Viet’s leadership, BIM has become a leading private corporation in Vietnam with four business pillars: real estate; agriculture and food; renewable energy; and consumer services.

Viet was born in 1955 in Hanoi. He graduated from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and later worked at the Institute of Electrical Engineering Science under the then Ministry of Electricity where he researched renewable energy applications.

In 1986, Viet was sent by the State to the Warsaw Polytechnic School in Poland as a graduate student.

In 1989, he started his business in the import-export field in Poland and established BIM Co. Ltd a year later. The company involved trading, hotels and restaurants.

Viet returned to Vietnam in 1994 and founded BIM Group, with Ha Long Plaza Hotel as its first project.

BIM Group is one of the largest real estate developers in the country with many projects like Park Hyatt Phu Quoc Residences, Regent Phu Quoc, InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort, Fraser Suites Hanoi, Sailing Club Residences Ha Long Bay, and Holiday Inn & Suites Vientiane (Laos).

It also produces salt on a 2,500-hectare field in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, which reportedly accounts for 60-70% of Vietnam’s industrial salt output.

At the salt field, BIM Group built a 500 MW solar and wind power complex that has been put into commercial operation since the end of 2021.

It has invested VND12,000 billion ($474.8 million) in its projects in Ninh Thuan, according to the company. Its goal is to develop at least 1 GW of wind and solar power by 2025.

The corporation is employing about 7,000 people across the country.

Doan Quoc Huy, Viet’s son, is currently vice chairman and general director of this multi-sector group. He is in charge of real estate business, renewables and financial investment activities.

Doan Thanh Mai, Viet’s daughter, takes care of tourism activities, commercial services and marketing.