The news, which has become a hot topic of discussion, was a statement made by Le Phuoc Vu, president of Hoa Sen Group (HSG), about the transfer of a stake to his youngest daughter in seven to 10 years.

Hoa Sen’s administration report shows that Vu has three children – Le Hoang Vu Tri, Le Hoang Dieu Tam and Le Hoang Dieu Thien, and all do not hold HSG shares. Vu  holds 104.8 million HSG shares, or 17 percent of the enterprise’s shares, worth VND2.2 trillion.

Prior to that, Vu talked about his intention to transfer all of his shares to a charity fund after he took refuge in the Buddha in July 2020. Since then, he has been living on a mountain and oversees his enterprise from afar.

Vu initially planned to quit the enterprise in 2026, when he began leading a religious life.

However, at the 2024 shareholders’ meeting held on March 18, Vu canceled the plan to transfer shares to a charity fund and committed not to sell shares to get money. Instead, Vu is thinking of transferring the corporation management power to his youngest daughter, who is now 23 years old, in seven to 10 years.

His youngest daughter, Le Hoang Dieu Thien, born in 2001, is studying in Australia. She is expected to manage the corporation well, according to Vu, because of her honesty.

Dieu Thien will be challenged with jobs at the corporation, from the lowest position, to doing business. In general, it takes time to complete a power transfer and find out if the recipients are capable of taking over a business.

Meanwhile, Dang Nguyen Quynh Anh, the daughter of Dang Thanh Tam, a well known industrial real estate developer, has quietly joined the board of directors of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation (KBC).

Prior to that, she had been called the richest 9x female in the stock market. Anh, 33, is holding 13.3 million KBC shares, or 1.7 percent of capital of the enterprise. She represents Vinatex - TanTao Investment JSC and holds 39 million KBC shares, or 5.1 percent.

Like the children of other very successful, wealthy businessmen, Anh is well educated. She once studied in the US and worked as a data analyst for a foreign company.

Next-generation businesswomen

First-generation businessmen in Vietnam some years ago began thinking of transferring their ownership to the next generations. The first step of the power transfer process is transferring shares, before successors join board of directors and begin managing enterprises.

In early 2024, Le Thi Minh Ngoc, the daughter of Le Van Quang and Chu Thi Binh of Minh Phu Seafood, spent VND200 billion to buy 11 million MPC shares, or 2.76 percent of the company’s capital.

Ho Thuy Anh, the daughter of Techcombank (TCB) President Ho Hung Anh, in 2023 acquired 82 million TCB shares worth trillions of dong, raising her ownership ratio to 105 million TCB shares.

Meanwhile, the daughter of TPBank vice president Do Anh Tu now holds 3.1 percent of TPB shares, and the daughter of VPBank president Ngo Chi Dung 10.8 million VPB shares, worth VND200 billion.

The business community has seen many women succeeding in taking over family businesses.

Trinh Thi Mai Anh, 32, the daughter of OCB president Trinh Van Tuan, is now a member of the board of directors of the bank. Anh is the only 9x woman on the board of directors of a Vietnamese bank. She holds 2.94 percent of OCB shares, worth VND890 billion.

In mid-July 2022, Le Thu Thuy, the daughter of Madam Nguyen Thi Nga, born in 1983, resigned from the post of SeABank CEO after a 5-year term, but she continues working at the bank as vice president. Thuy took the office as permanent member of the board of directors of SeABank in 2009, when she was just 26 years old.

SeABank made great strides under the reign of Thuy. In March 2021, SeABank officially listed 1.2 billion SSB shares on the HOSE with the reference price of VND16,800 per share.

SeAbank is one of the mid-range commercial banks with the biggest influence in recent years.

Meanwhile, at Thanh Thang Cong ‘Sugar Empire’, Dang Huynh Uc My, the daughter of Dang Van Thanh and Hoang Thi Bich Ngoc, has made a great contribution to Thanh Thanh Cong Bien Hoa (SBT). My is now vice president of the sugar mill chain.

Manh Ha