‘Branded goods King’ Johnathan Hanh Nguyen

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, born in 1951, is president of the IPP Group, a famous distributor of high-end fashion and branded goods. The businessman and his wife, Le Hong Thuy Tien, distribute 30 percent of foreign fashion brands in Vietnam, with a 70 percent domestic market share.

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen is the founder of the IPP Group, but he holds only 1 percent of the capital of the company. The remaining shares are held by his wife and children. 

In late 2017, Tien became one of the wealthiest business people in Vietnam after her husband transferred a huge amount of IPP shares.

Tien and her sons Nguyen Quoc Khanh and Nguyen Phi Long hold 59 percent, 20 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen once held 90 percent of the shares.

Tien’s company distributes products of many luxury brands, including Burberry, Ferragamo, Versace and Rolex, and fast food chains, including Burger King and Dunkin Donuts, with revenue nearing $1 billion.

In the last few years, IPP has stepped up its investment in the aviation service sector, including Sasco (SAS) and CIAS. IPP holds 30 percent of shares of the Cam Ranh International Terminal.

Johnathan Hanh Nguyen is now chair of Sasco, where Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) is the biggest shareholder with 49.1 percent of shares, with IMEX PAN-PACIFIC CO holding 25 percent. 

Meanwhile, ACFC and DAFC, the two subsidiaries of IPP Group, hold 15.4 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, in Sasco.

Doji dominates TPBank

A commercial bank – TPBank – emerged recently after Do Minh Phu, the owner of Doji, a major gold and jewelry company, and his family officially joined the bank.

A decade ago, TPBank was a bank in difficulties and among the weak banks forced to undergo restructuring.

Meanwhile, Phu reaped big fruit from gold and consumer goods trading. After selling capital in Diana Diaper and Napkin Production, Phu and his younger brother Do Anh Tu gathered resources to invest in the banking sector by buying 20 percent of TPBank shares.

At the 2012 annual shareholders’ meeting, Phu was appointed to the post of president of TPBank. Since then, he has been reorganizing the apparatus and the management board, and reshuffling the bank.

In mid-2018, Phu had to resign from his posts at a number of companies, including as president of DOJI, to take the highest position at TPBank as stipulated by the Law on Credit Institutions (He cannot hold both positions at the same time).

As of the end of 2022, the only big shareholder at TPBank was DOJI (5.93 percent), but Phu personally does not hold any TPBank share. However, his family members hold several million to tens of millions of shares of the bank.

Currently, Do Minh Duc, his son, holds 1.11 percent of TPBank shares (17.6 million shares), his daughters Do Vu Phuong Anh 1.11 percent and Do Quynh Anh 3.07 percent, and son Do Minh Quan 3.34 percent. 

Tu’s wife – Trung Thi Lam Ngoc - holds 1.4 million shares and Phu’s brother Do Anh Tu 3.71 percent (58.64 million shares). 

As such, Tu and Phu’s families hold more than 18 percent of TPBank shares.

Do Anh Tu, together with Do Minh Phu, are the sons of famous businessman Do The Su, who leads one of the most successful families in Vietnam. Su formerly ran the family’s business when he was 90 years old.

Do Minh Phu and his family do business in many fields, including finance, jewelry, finance and banking, trade and real estate.

Dang Van Thanh, king of the sugar industry, real estate

The historic M&A case in the Vietnamese finance and banking market between Sacombank and SouthernBank drew special attention many years ago. Sacombank’s president Dang Van Thanh had to leave the banking sector and return to the sugar industry where he had originally started doing business.

Thanh Thanh Cong Group of Thanh’s family focuses on sugar, real estate and tourism industries.

Dang Huynh Uc My, Thanh’s daughter, holds 15.9 percent of shares of Thanh Thanh Cong-Bien Hoa and 25.4 percent of Thanh Thanh Cong Group while Huynh Bich Ngoc, Thanh’s wife has 10.15 percent.

Thanh Thanh Cong-Bien Hoa directly and indirectly owns many sugar refineries, totaling 40 percent of market shares. It also owns some 2-4-star hotels, tourism sites and resorts throughout the country.

In the real estate sector, Ngoc is president of Sacomreal (SCR) and her son Dang Hong Anh is vice president.

Manh Ha