Famous Vietnamese entrepreneurs born in year of the Dragon

With intelligence, a hard-working mentality and great ambition, entrepreneurs born in the year of the Dragon are often full of energy and easily achieve wealth and power.

The first name to mention is Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh (born in 1952), chairwoman of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HosE) as REE.

After graduating in electrical-mechanical engineering from Karl-Marx-Stadt University in Germany, Thanh joined REE in 1982 as an engineer and became a company leader in 1985.

She assumed the position of REE general director when she was only 35 years old. At that time, REE was a small refrigeration business.

One of its turning points under the helm of Thanh was the firm's expansion into real estate investment with the E-town 1 office building in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City.

Following the success of E-town 1, REE forged ahead with E-town 2, 3, 4, which were completed in 2006 and 2008 with an occupation rate of up to 90%. Currently, REE is a multi-sector corporation, operating in the fields of electricity and water infrastructure and commercial office space.

Thanh currently holds more than 49.8 million REE shares worth nearly VND2.88 billion ($117.8 million), based on the January 5 trading price.

Another name is businessman Nguyen Duc Thuy, born in 1976. Thuy became famous when he was manager of two football teams competing in the 2011 Vietnam National Championship: Xuan Thanh Saigon Cement and Quang Nam.

Thuy founded Thaiholdings JSC in 2011 under the original name Kinh Thanh Development and Investment JSC. In 2016, the company was renamed Thaiholdings.

In June 2020, Thaiholdings listed 53.9 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) as THD, with a reference price of VND15,000 ($0.61) per share. THD quickly became a phenomenon with a series of impressive ceiling hits. As a result, Thuy, who held nearly 86 million THD shares at that time, became one of the top 10 Vietnamese billionaires with nearly VND17.5 trillion ($716.5 million) in stock value.

After stepping down from senior roles and divesting as a major shareholder in Thaiholdings, Thuy ventured into the financial sector. In December 2022, he was elected chairman of LienVietPostBank, now LPBank.

The list of businesspeople born in the year of the Dragon also includes Pham Dinh Doan (born in 1964), chairman and CEO of Phu Thai Holdings. He is considered one of the founders of the modern retail model.

Since Phu Thai Holdings was established in 1993, Doan has expanded his ecosystem through cooperation with famous foreign partners. Taking advantage of their abundant capital, experience and capacity, Phu Thai Holdings has become a group with rich potential, operating in five main areas: trade-distribution, construction machinery and mining, fashion, luxury car distribution, and agriculture.

Doan is also a member of the Hanoi People's Council for two consecutive terms, 2016-2021 and 2021-2026.

It would be a mistake not to mention Dang Thanh Tam (born in 1964), chairman of Kinhbac City Development Holding Corporation (HoSE: KBC) and Saigon Telecommunication & Technologies Corporation (HoSE: SGT).

Since its establishment, Tam has turned KBC into a large enterprise in the field of industrial real estate with 17 subsidiaries and affiliates. By the end of 2022, Kinh Bac owned 6,387 hectares of land, accounting for 5.2% of the country's industrial park land bank, up 22.45% from 2021.

Besides his business career, in 2006, Tam became a member of the APEC Business Advisory Council. In 2009, he was president of the Vietnam CEO Club and president of the Vietnam Golden Star Club. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

He was also a member of the Binh Chanh district People's Council in HCMC and a National Assembly delegate for the 2011-2016 term.

Last but not least, Ho Xuan Nang (born in 1964), chairman of Vicostone Joint Stock Company (HNX: VCS), was nicknamed "Jewish Nang" because of his intelligence, sophistication and excellent management ability.

He held many positions such as clerk and civil servant before becoming a businessman. With the dedication of Nang and his associates, Vicostone has achieved great success and development. The company's high-quality artificial stone paving products have reached the world market.

Nang is also famous for his investments in education. In 2017, he bought a large amount of shares in Thanh Tay University and helped it become one of the top 10 universities specializing in scientific research in Vietnam.

In particular, Nang has great ambitions in the electric vehicle segment and has launched a series of self-driving cars.