Vietnam tycoon Do Quang Hien builds business empire on trust

After more than three decades in business, trust has become a defining principle in the journey of Vietnamese entrepreneur Do Quang Hien - shaping decisions made in times of crisis and underpinning long-term commitments to business partners, communities, and the nation.

From a promise not to quit

In 1993, as Vietnam embarked on its market-opening reforms, Do Quang Hien founded T&T Co. Ltd., the predecessor of today’s T&T Group, starting from a small shop on Hai Ba Trung street in Hanoi.

In its early days, T&T was among the first to import refrigeration and electronics products from global brands such as Matsushita and Mitsubishi - rare commodities for most Vietnamese consumers at the time.

Demand was strong, allowing the company to rapidly expand to some 500 agents across northern Vietnam and become a meaningful contributor to state revenues.

But after three years of smooth growth, T&T was hit hard. Between 1995 and 1998, Vietnam’s market was flooded with untaxed and under-taxed electronic goods sold at sharply lower prices. T&T’s officially imported products, subject to taxes of up to 60%, became uncompetitive. Sales stalled and inventories piled up.

At its peak, T&T owed around VND7 billion ($269,540 at current exchange rate) in tax arrears - a substantial sum at the time - prompting a newspaper to run a front-page headline branding Do Quang Hien as a “notorious debtor”.

Hien later recalled that tax and customs authorities confirmed the arrears stemmed from unsold inventory rather than wrongdoing. “They verified that the debt was due to unsold goods which was big in value, not anything unclear behind the scenes,” he said.

After three years of crisis, T&T fell from the number one position to being left penniless, burdened by tax debt and facing immense pressure.

As banks pressed for repayment and tax authorities pursued collections, Hien faced a stark choice: disperse responsibility or shoulder the burden himself. He chose the latter. Senior staff were encouraged to seek opportunities elsewhere, a lean core team was retained, and Hien personally went to market to clear inventory, restore cash flow, and gradually settle debts.

The process took more than a year, marked by persistent financial pressure and moments when collapse seemed unavoidable. But the company survived, and those who stayed were not abandoned.

Rather than freezing operations to wait for recovery, T&T restructured, moving into assembly and production of refrigeration products based on Japanese standards and technology, while fully resolving its tax obligations. By the end of 1998, outstanding financial issues had largely been cleared.

That decision - to take responsibility rather than walk away - not only saved a company from bankruptcy but became a guiding principle for the next three decades, with trust at its core.

Taking risks without sacrificing credibility

After stabilizing its electronics business, Hien moved into motorcycle assembly, anticipating growth following the government’s localization policy. The sector soon became overcrowded, with nearly 60 firms competing, squeezing margins and adding pressure.

“I like doing what others think is impossible and seeing it through,” Hien said. “Money lost can be earned again, but T&T’s credibility in the market must not be eroded.”

A review of past investments led him to conclude that pure trading left the company exposed. That prompted T&T to invest more than VND300 billion ($11.55 million at current exchange rate) in a large-scale manufacturing plant in Hung Yen province to produce motorcycle components and engines with localization rates exceeding 80%, creating jobs for more than 2,000 workers and helping the group weather the storm.

From a small electronics shop in Hai Ba Trung street, T&T has grown into one of Vietnam’s leading private conglomerates, with charter capital exceeding VND22 trillion ($847.13 million), more than 200 subsidiaries and operations spanning seven key sectors.

Trust as a commitment to the nation

Business partners often describe Hien as someone who values loyalty and reciprocity. Over time, trust has become a personal hallmark - extending beyond partners and employees to the broader national interest.

This is reflected in T&T’s growing focus on large-scale infrastructure projects with long payback periods and uncertain margins but significant economic impact.

The businessman, born in 1962, once asserted that businesses, once they have the resources, should not simply choose easy, profitable ventures, but must venture into challenging fields that have the potential to create a long-term foundation for the country's development.

One example is the 2012 restructuring of Habubank, when Hien’s Saigon-Hanoi Bank, SHB, became the first lender to volunteer for a government-backed bank merger. SHB absorbed nearly 2,000 Habubank staff, tackled bad debts, and stabilized operations.

Within three years, SHB reduced its non-performing loan ratio to below 3%. By 2021, it had fully repaid its VAMC (Vietnam Asset Management Company) bonds ahead of schedule, cementing its financial turnaround. The bank has since risen into the top 5 Vietnamese private lenders by assets, market share, network, and headcount.

The same long-term approach is evident in T&T’s infrastructure investments, from the Quang Tri airport - with a projected payback period exceeding 47 years - to the 1,500MW Hai Lang LNG power project, a $2.3 billion investment tied to national energy security. This includes a port system capable of receiving 90,000-ton LNG vessels, expected to be operational between 2026 and 2029. It is an infrastructure project requiring years of preparation, significant capital investment, and a high tolerance for policy risks.

Other projects, including the Bao Loc-Lien Khuong Expressway under a public-private partnership model and large-scale logistics and urban developments such as the 83 hectare Vietnam SuperPort (VND6.9 trillion or $265.69 million in investment capital) and the proposed 11,000 hectare Red River Scenic Boulevard (VND855 trillion or $32.92 billion), involve decades-long horizons and heavy capital commitments.

The Bao Loc-Lien Khuong is a key connecting axis between the Central Highlands and the Southern key Economic Zone.

Across these ventures, the common thread is not scale but consistency: aligning corporate trust and responsibility with Vietnam’s long-term development needs.

According to Hien, international cooperation must first and foremost involve unifying strategic goals, in which the group cannot be separated from the national development vision. The win-win principle is a necessary condition, but not sufficient. This must be accompanied by technology transfer and human resource training, so that Vietnam can gradually achieve self-reliance in technology, governance, and operations within a defined period.

"My view is that foreign partners, when investing in Vietnam, must not only invest efficiently but also contribute to the country's sustainable development of the country. They cannot invest, make a profit, and then leave, because that would mean technology is not accessed, people are not trained, and Vietnam cannot develop," Hien noted frankly.

He said he had clearly expressed this viewpoint to his partners, and although many initially felt "pressured," they later appreciated and highly valued T&T Group's community-oriented approach.