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Overseas Vietnamese entrepreneur boosts the national economy
Jonathan Hanh Nguyen has made enormous contributions to the national economy, even though he has been living abroad for a long time. He played an important role in establishing an official air-route between Vietnam and the Philippines and has paved the way for many foreign-invested projects in the country.
Connecting Vietnam to the world by air
Jonathan Hanh Nguyen and his family moved to settle in the Philippines in 1974, when he was just over 20. He later studied aeronautics in the US before becoming the Philippine Airlines chief executive in charge of Indochina.
In his position, Hanh Nguyen has been always obsessed with the idea of doing something for his motherland.
Before 1985, it was very difficult to travel between Vietnam and other countries, especially by air. The country was then practising a subsidized economy and most of its major flights were via Bangkok, Thailand.
Bearing that in mind, Jonathan Hanh Nguyen decided to help the motherland develop its economy. In 1985, He began cooperating with Vietnam to launch flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Manila, marking a milestone in the development of Vietnam Airlines as well as Vietnam-Philippines ties.
Mr Hanh’s decision proved correct as it helped facilitate travel between Vietnam and the Philippines and sharply increased Vietnam’s trading with other countries in the region.
Calling for foreign investment in Vietnam
As early as 1990, when the US normalized its relations with Vietnam, Jonathan Hanh Nguyen made an official appeal to lure foreign investors into Vietnam.
His first project was to produce rattan products for export in the southcentral coastal city of Nha Trang. The project was a great success as it required little capital but provided jobs for up to 8,000 locals.
After this project, he continued to call for foreign investment in another 18 projects in various fields such as automobile assembly, tourism and trade centre with a total capitalization of US$120 million, providing steady jobs for more than 20,000 people.
Jonathan Hanh Nguyen has also set up his own company in HCM City, Imex Pan-Pacific, to do business in the fields of finance, supermarkets, real estate and hotels. The firm has a total capital of US$180 million.
Motivated by patriotism
In the early 1990s, persuading foreigners to invest in Vietnam was very difficult because at that time the country was rather poor with many uncertainties. However, Mr Hanh succeeded in winning them over and allowed them to recover debts from him in case of any losses.
“I risked doing so because I saw enormous potential for business in Vietnam. I also had a strong belief in my success. At first, some projects suffered losses but that was when Vietnam had not integrated deeply into the world economy. The fact that investors worldwide are now ‘rushing’ to Vietnam has substantiated my viewpoint.”
Jonathan Hanh Nguyen said he plans to set up more financial companies and build more hotels in Vietnam because the Vietnamese state has created more and more favourable conditions for investors.
The Vietnamese expatriate said he had the chance to meet Vietnam’s former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong and Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh a long time ago. He could not forget his cordial and close meeting with PM Dong, who had inspired strong patriotism and responsibility in him. “He told me not to ask what the country can do for us, but what we can do for the country,” Mr Hanh recalled.
Jonathan Hanh Nguyen has lived overseas for nearly 40 years, but devoted most of his time and energy to Vietnam. At the age of 60, he even wants to do more for the country. He said: “I’ve been to many places in the world and I fully understand that east or west, home is the best. I treasure the “camaraderie” between Vietnamese people, especially in times of difficulty. This has urged me to do more for Vietnam. I always teach my children that we are Vietnamese, no matter where we live. I plan to buy a house and settle in Vietnam. I’m proud to be Vietnamese.”
This explains why Hanh Nguyen has managed to help underprivileged people from across the country despite being busy with his business activities. He has spent more than VND18 billion building houses for the poor in the provinces of Lao Cai, Quang Tri, Tay Ninh and Dak Lak.
Jonathan Hanh Nguyen has got many certificates of merit from the Vietnamese state. In July 2008, he was one of four overseas Vietnamese receiving the Prime Minister’s certificate of merit for their contributions to community development and national construction.
VNN
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