Nick Vujicic's talk receive large public attention. Photo vnreview

HA NOI (Biz Hub) - Iron and Steel provider Hoa Sen Group has recently become very well known in Viet Nam due to its heavily publicised financial backing towards the visit of Australian motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, who was born without limbs.

The expenses for inviting Vujicic have been estimated at more than VND30 billion (US$ 1.4million).

While Vujicic's much-praised talks have received a huge amount of media attention and positive feedback, many users on social networks have shown their scepticism about the event.

Numerous people have questioned if it is worth paying so much money for such a visit when there are many inspirational disabled Vietnamese people living in the country. Criticism has also focused on the decision to invest so much money at a time when there are many difficulties facing the domestic economy. Others have pondered why the iron and steel giant is involved in the venture at all.

In fact, the benefit the visit is bringing Hoa Sen Group – both directly and indirectly – is fast becoming clear.

According to the Tri Thuc Tre news source, Hoa Sen Group dominated the iron roof market last year, acquiring more than 40 per cent of the market segment.

Hoa Sen Group chairman Le Phuoc Vu is among the richest men on Viet Nam stock market. Photo cafeF

It is also one of the few Vietnamese enterprises still posting impressive revenues and it made VND400billion ($19 million) since last October.

This means the $1.4million sum spent on the visit of Vujicic is well within Hoa Sen's financial capacity.

For several months the national television service VTV and other cable stations have repeatedly broadcast video clips about the events.

"If it wasn't for the Vujicic talks, I would never have known what Hoa Sen Group is. Now clips of the group are appearing on TV so frequently we know a lot more about them and their chairman," said office worker Tran Nhu Hoa.

This canny advertising has had a positive impact for the company's share value. Business news site cafeF reports that two days after Vujicic arrived in Viet Nam, the price of shares in the Hoa Sen group (HSG) had increased sharply by 9.3 per cent. The market value of the business increased by roughly VND400 billion ($19 million) as a consequence.

As the biggest HSG shareholder, chairman Le Phuoc Vu saw his shares rise in value by more than VND180 billion to VND2,122 billion ($100 million).

Vu has been ranked the sixth richest man in Viet Nam's stock market. -- VNS