1. Phase 1: 1994 – 2024: Laying the Foundation
- Starting point: Vietnam normalized relations with the US. At this time, our economy exhibited the following characteristics:
- Diverse economic development: Opening opportunities for the development of various industries.
- Startups: Selling products, exploring all channels, as long as sales are made, there will be a brand, as the market is open, willing to work will have customers, multitasking, doing many things at once, cost-saving, meticulously serving each customer, focusing on survival and basic necessities.
- Low taxes.
- **Taxes in the first few years of startup were lenient to allow businesses to survive and break even.
- Basic market management laws and regulations, not yet tightened.
- Easy to do business, the economy mixed between private enterprises and individual business households, small traders.
- The government selected a few talented individuals of the nation, concentrated resources to transform them into conglomerates to lift an entire economy.
- Capital: Primarily from banks + real estate, accumulated over decades through mortgages, credit, cash flow, and the efficiency of capital use for disbursement.
- Model: Mainly manufacturing companies, wholesale, processing, raw material exports, competing with cheap labor; no significant ownership of intellectual property, brands, or customer retention.
- Method: Friendly business relationships, the budding of national brands being formed, and a few holding their own positioning and place in the market.
2. Phase 2: (2024 – 2045): Strong Development, Vietnam has the following characteristics:
- Focus on developing areas where Vietnam can leverage its core strengths, not spreading out as before.
- Speculative, unsustainable areas will be eliminated (such as usurious lending, lottery, tax evasion, multi-level marketing, products of unknown origin, quality…).
- Startup and asset management: Beginning to standardize operating procedures, finance and accounting, selecting industries where the country has strengths and can sustain long-term development.
- Taxing many areas to increase budget, Decision 345/QD-BTC on the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from 2022 – 2025 has been issued.
- Market management laws and regulations are very strict, fairer and healthier competition. Avoid situations where a comparable product in a business household, a small trader, has a much lower price than a company, a legal entity.
- Capital: Cannot wait 20 years like predecessors to succeed, young people tend to focus on owner’s equity (equity) with the ability to raise capital, professionally manage business operations to create sustainable and contemporary empires.
- Model: Primarily focusing on technology, breakthrough business models, applying digital marketing and breaking down traditional traditions or conventional cost usage; shorter startup time and higher company valuation.
- Method: Relationships and understanding between brands and customers, consumers, and a trend towards exporting Vietnamese intellectual property, bringing foreign currency back to the country.
- Combining with friendly support to access concentrated, useful resources and bring benefits to individuals and the nation.
Vietnam’s Strengths:
- Tourism: Long, beautiful coastline with diverse tropical climate.
- Central logistics and shipping location of Southeast Asia, 500 million people.
- Bridge between China and the US.
- Safe destination for asset management: US, Europe, China, Japan, Korea…
- Food powerhouse, sufficient to supply 500 million people in case of war.
- Good relations with both China and the United States.
“Fortune favors the prepared.”
More years ago, running after ability and self-worth, struggling a lot and unable to answer my own questions due to insufficient knowledge and information.
a) Why does this industry develop and why not?
b) Why are there industries that are not sustainable but still exist?
c) What are the benefits of friendly relationships?
d) Where is the cash flow located?
e) Who leads this country and this economy?
f) Choose ability or choose relationships?
g) What is luck?
h) Does effort and diligence guarantee success?
i) What is financial literacy and cash flow?
j) How does the capital market operate?
k) What is inflation, interest rates, and financial bubbles?
l) What is considered to have the ability?
m) Who is the host? …
Now I can answer questions that I couldn’t answer many years ago, feel the opportunity for myself, the team, and the founders with inner strength coming soon.
Now is March 2024, there are still 9 months left until 2025, what has your team prepared for a new beginning when the market has accumulated by 2026?
FYI, CASH FLOW FIGURES OVER THE YEARS
- 2017 – 2018: 17 quadrillion VND.
- 2019: 16 quadrillion VND.
- 2020: 14 quadrillion VND.
- 2021: 13 quadrillion VND.
- 2022: 10 quadrillion VND.
- 2023: 8 quadrillion VND.
- 2024: 6 quadrillion VND.
- 2025: 10 quadrillion VND.
- 2026: 14 quadrillion VND.
- 2027: 16 quadrillion VND.
In fact, when the market warms up and accumulates enough, it’s not an opportunity for everyone, because opportunity is only for those who have competitive ability, standards, and a truly strong team.
The financial market must accumulate and go sideways enough, then it will bounce back; if everyone makes a profit, who loses?