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Most successful businessmen hesitate to flaunt their wealth
Abstaining from ostentation is a traditional virtue in Vietnam, one practiced by Vietnamese businessmen in particular. Though many changes have occurred with the economy, that habit has not changed, observes VnExpress.
He’s the owner of a big private company that has several hundred workers, but Hoang still tries to curb expenses. The clothes he wears are made in Vietnam. He changes his computer and mobile phones only when they get too old and become useless. Except when he needs to negotiate business with partners, Hoang only spends only 25,000 or at most 30,000 dong on his lunch.
Asks about his frugal life, Hoang smiles and says that if he were to wear elegant clothes, he would be hesitant to do manual work. It’s important to him, he explains, to be close to his workers and to show his staff that he can do all kinds of work.
Others say Hoang lives modestly because he does not want other to people know that he has a lot of money.
In 2008, newpaper readers learned that the flamboyant owner of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Club and many other enterprises, Hoang Nguyen Duc, had purchased a private airplane. In 2009, when Duc was listed for the second time as one of Vietnam’s richest men, Duc said he aspired to become the nation’s first billionaire. Both times, many people roundly criticised Duc.
Big businessmen polled by VnExpress that many of them have the same dream as Duc and they quietly strive to increase their wealth. However, they don’t brag about such things, because it is the habit of Vietnamese people not to flaunt their assets.
When Duc’s private aircraft arrived in Vietnam, a certain banker also planned to purchase a private aircraft for himself. He had ordered the aircraft and even paid a deposit. However, the banker canceled the plan in the end, because he feared that the peaceful life of his family would be spoiled if people know about the private aircraft, and whispered and commented about it.
In late 2006, Vietnam witnessed a trend toward buying super-cars. Vehicles with brand names like Maybach, Rolls-Royce, Bentley or Aston Martin were ordered by Vietnamese businessmen. It’s well-known that the owner of the million dollar Maybach is the Chairman of a food company in HCM City, and one of the richest stock millionaires. However, according to the people closest to the man, the limosine has been rarely used in the last four years. People have never seen the man driving the car on the street.
In other countries, the owners of luxurious cars like to show them off, but in Vietnam, the owners of luxurious cars do not want to stand out. Thus information about the car prices and car owners has typically been a secret. The cars are bought through intermediaries who just reveal that the real buyers are rich businessmen, who purchase cars to satisfy their passion, not to show off. That explains why the general director of a big business in HCM City, the owner of ten luxury cars, drives a cheap Matiz sedan everyday to the office.
The head of a telecommunications company based in Hanoi said that businessmen lead a high pressure life, and so they always have to try to do everything to avoid inconvenience.
vietnamnet, VnExpress
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