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Background: That means VinFast for Vietnam: dancing at many weddings

Background: That means VinFast for Vietnam: dancing at many weddings

At first glance, VinFast is just another Asian carmaker. But there is much more behind the manufacturer. A large conglomerate that plays a crucial role in Vietnam’s future.

Pham Nhat Vuong’s résumé reads like that of many a self-made billionaire who made his fortune with ambition, talent and assertiveness and is now trying his hand at car manufacturing. The son of an Air Force officer and a tea shop owner, he studied at the University of Mining and Geology before graduating on a scholarship in Moscow. The Vietnamese had already achieved more than many of his compatriots. But Pham found his luck in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where he devised a process for the production of dry food and sold it to the US food company Nestlé in 2009 for an alleged $150 million. This sum was never confirmed, but if you ask employees at his company Vingroup today, you will get a friendly smile and the non-binding answer: “Sorry, I don’t know the exact number”.

Pham Nhat Vuong shuns the public eye and reveals as little as possible about himself. Only a narrow circle of employees have access to the billionaire entrepreneur. What is known, however, is that he earned a fortune with real estate in his home country of Vietnam and now wants to get started as a car manufacturer. “His goal is to improve the prosperity of the Vietnamese people,” emphasize the Vingroup employees again and again with shining eyes. The mission has had the expected repercussions: a 2021 survey conducted by Campaign Asia and NielsenIQ found Vingroup to be the most popular domestic brand in Vietnam. It also pays off for the man at the top of the company. The US magazine Forbes estimates his fortune at $7.5 billion, which puts him first in Vietnam and 344th in the world-famous list of billionaires.

Whichever way you look at it: The Vingroup is a success story. The conglomerate generates 1.5 percent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product and represents 13 percent of the stock market value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange. Immense values. And all with the blessing of the Vietnamese government. Because the Vingroup is one of the few companies of the socialist state that is not directly under the control of the communist party. However, in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, little or nothing works without good connections to the party leadership. Especially since the branches of the Vingroup penetrate a number of areas of public life. In addition to real estate, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, schools, a kind of Vietnamese Ebay, shopping centers and of course the automobile manufacturer VinFast belong to the multi-billionaire’s empire.

So now cars. Here, too, the motto is not to make a mess, but to pack big. The Vietnamese rely on electric cars and want to get started in the USA, Germany, France and the Netherlands this year. In 2026, 950,000 cars are expected to roll off the assembly line. That’s why the Asian automotive newcomer is building factories in North Carolina and in Europe. A bold plan, since these markets are not among the easiest and established manufacturers are fighting for their living quarters, spending billions. But all politically correct. “Vingroup strives for a sustainable and environmentally friendly portfolio. In addition to cars, electric scooters, energy and “green” technologies, Vingroup also focuses on the development of smart buildings and the use of energy-saving materials in real estate, resorts, retail and social infrastructure,” reads a press release.

How ambitious Phams Nhat Vuong’s plans are can be seen in Vinhomes Ocean Park in the heart of the metropolis of Hanoi, a city within a city with an artificially created salt lake including sandy beaches, a huge mall and a residential complex in which the Asian country’s up-and-coming middle class should feel comfortable . However, the question is whether this clientele is already available in sufficient numbers. A simple apartment costs 1,500 US dollars per square meter, if you want it to be a little more noble, you have to pay around 4,000 dollars. If you decide on a villa, you have to shell out at least two million US dollars. When we visited, the streets were straight and the buildings lined up like postcards. To ensure the company’s success, Vingroup has set up a private university right next door, where the country’s intellectual elite will teach and conduct research. The auditorium with 1,500 seats shows that “think big” applies here too. It will be seen in a few years whether the multi-business company does not get bogged down in the dance at many weddings and whether the automotive division suffers as a result.

Source: Stern

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