VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is witnessing the movement of Viet Kieu returning to the homeland to develop their life’s works. Many of them are from Russia.

The Vietnamese people who were trained, lived and worked in Russia and former Soviet Union in 1980s and 1990s now hold the most important links of the national economy.

Nguyen Dang Quang, one of them, who has listed himself among the Vietnamese stock millionaires, is the owner of a consumer goods group.

Pham Nhat Vuong has become the first Vietnamese dollar billionaire after his successful investments in the real estate sector.

Pham Nhat Vuong has become the first Vietnamese billionaire to enter the list of world’s richest individuals, with total assets of US$1.5 billion as estimated in March 2013.

Pham ranks 974th in the list voted by Forbes, with his $1.5 billion  worth based largely on the 53 percent stake he owns (both indirectly and directly) in Vingroup, a real estate development firm.

Born in Hanoi in 1968, Pham started his career in Ukraine by producing instant noodles, eventually styling himself as Ukraine’s processed-food king.

By 2010, when Pham sold the company for an estimated $150 million to Nestle, his noodle company, Technocom, had revenues of $100 million.

Le Viet Lam has poured his money into the real estate and tourism, while Nguyen Canh Son has become well known with Euro Window.

The common characteristics of the businessmen are that they are young (most of them are about 40), dynamic, rich, and most of them have poured money into the banking sector.

Nguyen Dang Quang, 1963, and Ho Hung Anh, 1970, have been known as Chair and Deputy Chair of Masan Group (MSN), a powerful conglomerate with the total market capitalization value reaching $3 billion.

However, they are also the influential bankers as well. Anh is the Chair of Techcombank, while Quang is Deputy Chair. Masan group now holds 20 percent of Techcombank’s stakes, one of the banks with the fastest growth rates over the last 10 years.

Consumer goods and the banking sector have been serving as the springboard for Quang and Anh to expand their emperors. MSN has recently carried out a series of takeover deals to expand their business, move in their plan to jump into other business fields. The Vinh Hao mineral water, Vincafe Bien Hoa, Proconco and Nui Phao project have belonged to the powerful group.

Ngo Chi Dung, another businessman who started up in Russia, has also become the owner of a bank. Dung was the founding shareholder of VIB Bank, Deputy Chair of Techcombank before he became the President of VP Bank.

Nguyen Canh Son, who possesses Euro Window brand, injects money in the real estate sector and building materials, is also the influential shareholder of Techcombank and VIB Bank.

More and more Vietnamese businessmen, who succeed with their business overseas, have returned to Vietnam to develop business in the homeland. Their experiences and knowledge have helped develop the national economy and domestic businesses.

A lot of powerful Vietnamese brands have been generated by the young businessmen, such as Massa, Eurowindow, Vingroup and Sungroup, and a lot of powerful empires have been created by them, such as Vinpearl Land Nha Trang, Royal City, Dai Nam tourist site and Ba Na Hills.

Manh Ha