VietNamNet Bridge – “East European group” refers to the group of Vietnamese businessmen starting up in East European countries and developing their business in Vietnam. They have been succeeding in different business fields, from banking, aviation to tourism and consumer goods.

Vietnam in recent years has been witnessing the increased presence of the Vietnamese businessmen returning from East European countries after they studied and got successes there. 2013 is really an auspicious year for them.

The first Vietnamese billionaire

In 2013, for the first time in history, the name of a Vietnamese was added onto the list of the world’s billionaires. Pham Nhat Vuong, President of Vingroup, who, with the total assets of $1.5 billion, has been recognized as the 974th richest man in the world.

The 46-year-old billionaire is the founder of Vingroup, the leading group in real estate, retail and healthcare sectors. He once followed the university education in Moscow and then started up his business in Ukraine as the developer of Mivina instant noodle brand.

His business has become more prosperous since the day he returned to Vietnam to make investment in tourism real estate, high end real estate, healthcare and retail.

Pham Nhat Vuong was the richest in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 list of stock millionaires thanks to the big amounts of Vincom and Vinpearl shares he held.

The attractiveness of Vincom has helped it successfully issue $300 million worth of convertible bonds in the context of the global economic recession. Most recently, Warburg Pincus, a private investment fund, has decided to invest $200 million in the group in exchange for 20 percent of Vincom Retail.

With 284.6 million Vincom shares and the market price of VND70,000 per share, Vuong now has the stock assets of VND20 trillion.

The power of “East European group”

It is an interesting discovery that the businessmen starting up in East European countries have been very succeeding in their life works. The heads of many government agencies are those who finished universities in Russia, Czech or Germany. The Vietnamese owners of the enterprises in key business sectors are also from East Europe.

In September 2013, Vietnamese heard about the two huge commercial affairs, including the purchase of 100 aircrafts worth $9 billion and the merger of two commercial banks. Both the affairs related to one economic group – Savico, whose owners are also from East Europe.

Savico, established as a real estate group, has become more famous with the investments in the aviation and banking sectors.

In 2013, the name Le Viet Lam, the owner of Sungroup, appeared in all local newspapers as the investor of the huge suspension cable project on Fansipan mount. Lam has been well known as a businessman from East Europe, a contemporary of Pham Nhat Vuong at business in Ukraine.

In September 2013, Dang Khac Vy, a businessman from East Europe, took the office as President of VIB Bank.

In May 2013, Vietnam witnessed the establishment of a new bank – Vietbuild Bank. The owner of Thien Thanh Group, a businessman from East Europe, representing 20 shareholders, holds 84 percent of the bank’s stakes.

Manh Ha