Growing up with books

Nguyen Khai Hoan, 47, is a Vietnamese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder and Chairman of Khai Hoan Group and Khai Hoan Land. He is also known for the innovative use of "reading culture" as a method of personal and corporate development. His commitment to books and the art of reading have prompted him to develop a number of charitable and philanthropic projects.

Nguyen Khai Hoan was born and raised in a family dedicated to arts and culture. His father, Nguyen Khai, was an influential writer of the Vietnamese literature in the 20th century. He was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize and one of the notable figures of the post-August Revolution’s writers. He was one of the prominent faces of the generation of writers who grew up after the August 1945 revolution; deputy to the 7th National Assembly and Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Writers Association.

Hoan currently resides in District 7, HCM City. His wife is Tran Thi Thu Huong, one of top 200 richest businesspeople. They have four children.

Despite his literary upbringing, Hoan developed an interest in real estate business very early. At the age of 20, he began his real estate management career.

The aspiration to become a businessman

In 2009, Hoan and five others founded Khai Hoan Land Group Joint Stock Company, specializing in real estate investment, development and brokerage in HCM City and neighboring provinces. As of May 2022, the company had got the capital of VND4.431 trillion with Nguyen Khai Hoan holding 30.61 percent. The other four founders are members of Hoan’s family, including his brother, sister, and his wife who currently holds 13.68 percent of the company’s stocks.

On June 26, 2021 Khai Hoan Land Group Joint Stock Company and T&T Group reached an agreement, under which Khai Hoan is the sole developer and distributor for all projects with T&T Group brand name throughout the country. The agreement solidifies Khai Hoan Land's position as one of the leading housing developers in Vietnam.

On July 19, 2021 Khai Hoan Land stocks were officially listed on the HCM City bourse.

Nguyen Khai Hoan is one of the 100 wealthiest individuals in the Vietnamese stock market, while his wife, Tran Thi Thu Huong, is one of top 200 richest individuals (data as of April 17, 2022).

Huong holds 43.6 million KHG stocks with an estimated value of VND876.4 billion as of December 6, 2021.

The philosophy that makes success

In addition to business and real estate, Hoan is also passionate about literature and understands the importance of reading for personal and social development.  He is known for pioneering the reading culture in the company, and considers this “the foundation for Khai Hoan Land’s commercial success”.  His co-workers are encouraged to read books as a part of their professional development. Books are presented in training courses and awarding ceremonies as a major component of charity programs.

“Books allow us to travel into the universe. They allow us to travel into the minds of others and then into our hearts.  Books are as close to magic that we - human being - can own.” he said. 

Khai Hoan Land and Chairman Nguyen Khai Hoan have grown and cemented a firm position in the market, not only because of the business values they create, but also the ethical and humane values that his business brings to the community through outstanding projects.

Khai Hoan Land’s humanity projects

Nguyen Khai Hoan continues his famous father’s literary and humane values through a number of community projects.

“The stone bench” project

Thousands of stone benches with famous quotes have been placed in residential areas across the city. As stated by Khai Hoan, the aim of the project is "letting ideas freely float and some may stick in the minds of the people who pass by”. Every quote passed from generation to generation is the culmination of humanity’s intelligence and soul, which has the ability to soothe and empower the soul."

“Khai Hoan Bookshelf” Project

With a deep love of books, Hoan started this project with the shelves filled with books placed in many locations, aiming at spreading the reading culture to people. It also aims at helping the community contribute to Vietnam’s socio-educational development.

Building libraries in disadvantaged communities

Hoan’s longer term goal is to build libraries in remote and economically disadvantaged communities. 

Hoan has implemented the plan to build bookcases in remote areas. He believes that human values are not only found in books, but also need to be promoted and spread more widely in life. 

Hoan is really a special businessman, not only because of the right decisions to gain success in his business; but also the human values that he has been spreading among the community.

 Doãn Phong