VietNamNet Bridge - Two Vietnamese dollar billionaires and other well-known businessmen started their careers by making instant noodles.

Masan president Nguyen Dang Quang

Pham Nhat Vuong and Mivina

Before becoming a dollar billionaire with real-time assets of $6.7 billion by December 24 as reported by Forbes, Pham Nhat Vuong, chair of Vingroup, started a restaurant and instant noodle production in Kharkov, Ukraine.

In 1996-2002, when the economic and financial crisis occurred and the coupon regime was applied to a wide range of goods in Ukraine, Vuong and his co-workers began producing Mivina instant noodles.

Mivina, with 30 workers, quickly became the dominant brand in Kharkov and throughout Ukraine. Later, Vuong expanded his production network with factories and branches located in many other cities of Ukraine. 

His products not only sold in Ukraine, but also in 30 markets throughout the world. Besides instant noodles, he also made mashed potatoes and opened satellite workshops.

Two Vietnamese dollar billionaires and other well-known businessmen started their careers by making instant noodles.

In early 2000s, Vuong decided to sell his factories and return to Vietnam. In his home country, Vuong has built a ‘Vingroup empire’ which has invested in many business fields, from retail, real estate, education to smartphone and automobile manufacturing.

Masan president Nguyen Dang Quang

Like Vuong, Nguyen Dang Quang spent a long time living and studying in East Europe. He started up in the 1990s after a study period in Russia by selling instant noodles to Vietnamese people in the country. 

Later, the man with a doctorate in nuclear physics built a factory with the capacity of 30 million packages of noodles a month, and then made investments in soybeans, fish and chilli sauce as well.

Since his return to Vietnam, Quang has been reaping big success with Masan Food, the company he founded. Masan Food focuses on the four most popular products in Vietnam, namely fish sauce, soy sauce, instant noodles and seasoning.

VP Bank owner Nguyen Chi Dung

While Vuong and Quang are recognized as ‘dollar billionaires’, Ngo Chi Dung is not. However, he is well known in Vietnam as a successful businessman.

Dung also started up in Russia with instant noodle production. His company was Rollton, relatively well known in Russia.

Sources said Rollton defeated Quang’s Masan brand, which had to leave Russia for Vietnam.

Rollton also created thousands of jobs for Vietnamese expats and Russian citizens.

At the sixth conference of the Vietnam Entrepreneurs’ Association in Russia held in 2012, Rollton’s great achievements, especially in job generation, were honored.