In late 2020, FLC put its FLC Grand Hotel Quy Nhon with 1,500 hotel rooms with capacity of 3,500 people, the largest 5-star hotel complex in Vietnam, into operation.

Amid Covid, and current conditions, the new hotel is considered an indicator of confidence in Vietnam's tourism recovery in the long term.

Nguyen Xuan Phu, president of Sunhouse Group, said revenue plummeted by 50 percent in the first two months of 2020. However, Sunhouse began seeing a strong recovery in the last three months of the year.

The growth rate was high, 20-30 percent in November and December. The company’s profits did not decrease in 2020 because it bought materials when the prices dropped sharply. Meanwhile, prices have soared by 30-40 percent recently.

The businessman said that opportunities exist in difficulties and if businesses can grab the opportunities, they will make great strides.

Ngo Thi Anh Dao, business director of Novo Viet Tiep JSC, said the company had three months of no activity because of the pandemic. However, it overcame difficulties to obtain the 40 percent growth rate in revenue in 2020.

Dao said Novo Viet Tiep is hoping local customers who use Chinese products will rethink and use Vietnam’s products because the products are better.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Hong Ky, president of SECOIN JSC, said he shifted to focus on the domestic market and made appropriate investments in research and development.

The changes in the business strategy allowed the company to obtain a growth rate of 10-15 percent in revenue in 2020.

Analysts say that Covid-19 is a test of the resilience of the business community. There will be many unpredictable turns and barriers on the path to development, but there will be deserving rewards for those who have firm faith and strong will.

Admitting that 2020 was a ‘tough’ year, FLC’s president Trinh Van Quyet emphasized the ‘Vietnamese spirit of overcoming all difficulties’.

“2020 was a really challenging year, but it showed the strong resilience of Vietnamese businesses and people. They are not fearful of difficulties and hardships and they never shrink back,” he said.

Quyet recalled the first days of 2020 and the lockdown in April, when airports were empty and long queues of aircraft were idle on the runway.

However, things are getting better thanks to the successful efforts to control the pandemic.

Bamboo Airways became one of only a few air carriers in the world which maintained a positive growth rate in both number of passengers, air routes, fleet and market share.

The new airline has put modern wide-body aircraft into operation, preparing for international air routes to Northeastern Asia, Europe and Australia. The air carrier has received a license to fly non-stop to the US and plans to provide the first flights in 2021.

Meanwhile, the government has decided that the construction of Long Thanh International Airport will kick off on January 5. All of these aim to prepare for a new growth period in Vietnam.

Experiencing sleepless days, Quyet said that fighting the pandemic while developing the economy was the most difficult task in the history of the Vietnamese business community.

In such a situation, if businesses set goals that they ‘must live’, they will survive. But if they set goals that they ‘must make a breakthrough’, they could create unprecedented lucky chances.

Pham Thi Kim Loan, president of Ngan Ha Science and Technology, said she was happy as her business recovered after a period of being hit hard by the pandemic.

The businesswoman cited the Prime Minister’s words that ‘opportunities always exist in difficulties’.

The news about enterprises overcoming difficulties show the strong vitality of Vietnam’s businesses. Hundreds of thousands of enterprises and millions of Vietnamese have been accompanying the government on the thorny path to fight the pandemic and develop the economy.

Analysts say that Covid-19 is a test of the resilience of the business community. There will be many unpredictable turns and barriers on the path to development, but there will be deserving rewards for those who have firm faith and strong will.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, at a conference between the government and cities/provinces on December 28, 2020, said that while many countries in the region and the world have fallen into recession, Vietnam has maintained a positive growth rate. Vietnam now can say that it has fulfilled the dual task of both fighting the pandemic and maintaining economic growth.

Duy Anh