4:42:45 PM | 10/10/2007
On the sidelines of a seminar on “Developing economic groups in Vietnam” held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Central Institute for Management Study, the Vietnam Business Forum talked with Ms Dinh Le Hanh, chairwoman of Dinh Le Industrial Group, on this issue.
From the angle of business, what do you think about the economic group model?
In my opinion, the development of the group model, including State-owned and private economic groups, will enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese companies in the process of global economic integration. This is an inevitable trend in the economic development process. The recent evidence is the formation of coal, electric, oil and gas groups. Besides, we also witnessed strong expansion of private enterprises such as Hoa Phat and Viet A, and this is a good signal for the economy. An economic group must have financial and technological capacity, human resources and market success. In Japan, non-state enterprises contribute 70 per cent of GDP.
Many say the formation of economic groups in Vietnam is only a trend. What do you think about this?
I disagree with this argument. In recent years, many companies have expanded and now operate as holding companies; these are the preparatory steps to become economic groups. However, the size of private economic groups is still very small compared with those in the region and the world. Personally, I do not value simply the size or model, but the actual ability. In other words, companies must have full capital, technology and other factors, as well as the capacity, to become groups.
So, this is the reason for your choice of transforming Dinh Le into an economic group, not other business forms?
From the initial days, I oriented Dinh Le to become a multi-sector group. Under this roadmap, after seven years, Dinh Le Group has 5 units, namely Thanh Ha Commercial Investment and Technical Design Joint Stock Company, Dinh Le Steel Building Joint Stock Compay, Phuc Ha Industrial Park Infrastructure Development and Operation Joint Stock Company, Merrycarrier Forwarding and Logistics Co. Ltd and Phu Ha Motor Equipment and Services Co. Ltd. Currently, we are preparing to set up a high-grade private hospital and expect to operate it this year.
In spite of being a young enterprise, the Dinh Le name and trademark have been present on many key construction projects in Vietnam, such as all steel roof sheets for Cau Duong tissue paper factory, Bai Bang Paper Co. and Toyota My Dinh. Especially, we are setting up a commercial centre in the US to serve the demand of Vietnamese people there.
L.H
Vietnamese
