Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of conglomerate Vingroup and Viet Nam’s first billionaire in the Forbes list, has been an inspiration to Vietnamese enterprises, especially young entrepreneurs.

He has inspired them to expand their businesses, gain confidence in their capabilities and conquer the world.

Viet Nam now has four billionaires in Forbes’ annual list. This is double the number in last year’s rankings.

Besides Vuong and Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao – CEO of Vietjet, Thaco chairman Tran Ba Duong and Hoa Phat chairman Tran Dinh Long feature in the Forbes 2018 list.

Vuong has been named for the sixth consecutive time. He is currently the world’s 499th richest person. Vuong also retained his position as Viet Nam’s richest man, with a net worth of US$4.3 billion, a $1.9 billion increase compared to last year.

Hoang Quang Phong, vice chairman of Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the success of Vuong and his group proved that multi-sector businesses could make firms stronger. This busts the myth of “Jack of all trades, master of none”, he said.

Forbes this year recognised Vuong as a multi-sector billionaire and not just in the real estate business as in previous years. Besides steel, Hoa Phat Group operates in property, interiors and agriculture.

Last year, Vuong expanded his business to new areas, such as VinTata, which produces cartoons, and Vinfast, which produces automobiles. Despite a lot of investment in the new sectors, Vuong’s assets still rose by $1.9 billion and after-tax profit increased by 1.5 times from 2016.

Notably, the $3.5 billion investment in Vinfast, Viet Nam’s first automobile manufacturing complex, has yielded positive results.

According to economist Pham Chi Lan, the investment in a sector which was thought to be dead in the country after 20 years of attracting foreign investors has affirmed the talent and bravery of Vingroup’s chairman. Successful people like Vuong, who are rich in assets and experience and have prestige in the market, can inspire the youth to be successful.

“In every economy, leaders play a crucial role as they can create a new playground for the entire market and country and not just for their sectors,” Lan said.

According to Phong, becoming a leader in a sector - for example, Duong in automobiles and Thao in aviation - is extremely hard. Vingroup has eight main sectors and is taking the lead in different industries, he said.

Notably, the development of Vingroup came from a key sector and quickly expanded to others with a high demand in society.

Nguyen Quoc Hiep, chairman cum general director of GP Invest, said many large firms, such as T&T, Thaco and Sovico Holdings, had begun to expand their business to multiple sectors. The success of the four billionaires will continue to inspire confidence in Vietnamese companies, he said. — VNS