Seeking new investment areas
Hoang Ngoc Gia, General Director of Ton Bao Khanh ( Bao Khanh Corrugated Iron)Company, Ltd, one of the young entrepreneurs with quite a lot of properties, has a system of 16 branches in the province and the annual turnover of VND 60-70 billion. From only trading in corrugated iron and steel in the province, the company has diversified lines such as ceramic tiles, interior wooden furniture and so on, and produced dozens of products favored by customers. Renovating business activities, diversifying supply products are not enough. Two years recently, Hoang Ngoc Gia has taken new steps to expand investment in other provinces in a totally new area of service-tourism.
Project of Tam Thai Residential Area, An Cuu Ward, Hue City
According to Hoang Ngoc Gia, expanding business to other provinces is part of the company's development strategy. Although the typical strength is in the area of corrugated iron and steel, the investment in other provinces with this strength is difficult because the construction material market is tending to be saturated. Therefore, tourism is the first choice.
“It is not a coincidence that I chose Danang to start the company's investment strategy . In recent years, Da Nang has continuously led the country in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) ( The results published by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry). In particular, its tourism sector continues to achieve a high growth rate, the infrastructure investment is strongly promoted with a total capital of more than USD 7.2 billion and so on," Hoang Ngoc Gia said.
At present, Ton Bao Khanh has put Ana Maison Hotel into operation for nearly one year. Also, the company is investing more in Bao Khanh restaurant system and establishing Bao Khanh Real Estate Company. The initial investment has not yet yielded considerable revenue, but for Hoang Ngoc Gia and many enterprises, this is a good step forward.
Not just Ton Bao Khanh, many other enterprises are also known by the market of other provinces because of their turning points in investment. Thua Thien Hue Construction Joint Stock Company is another example.
Mr. Le Quy Dinh, Chairman of the Board of Management of Thua Thien Hue Construction Joint Stock Company said that starting from the tender activities in civil and industrial construction, Thua Thien Hue Construction Joint Stock Company to date has expanded business activities in many areas such as consultancy, design survey, construction and installation of works in different specialties, production and business of construction materials, business investment in infrastructure of industrial zones, residential areas, new urban zones, real estate business, import and export and so on.
Along with expanding the type, after conducting equitization in 2011 and equitizing the whole enterprise , the company has planned the investment strategy, expanded business areas selectively in conformity with its strengths. To date, Thua Thien Hue Construction Joint Stock Company has made its mark in most provinces in Central Vienam from Nghe An to Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces.
Affirming the enterprise culture
There will be nothing to speak of the investment of enterprises in Thua Thien Hue if they only invest to make a profit. According to Hoang Ngoc Gia, investing in a new environment is not an easy thing when relationships, cultures, and people are strange. The problem posed is how to reconcile for development, and all are in the estimation of the enterprise.
Bowing is one of the cultures built by Bao Khanh Group
"When first setting foot in Da Nang for investment, I have incorporated the entire culture of Ton Bao Khanh Company into in a new environment. Of course, I had to spend a lot of time in shaping the culture among the employees, even to assign some employees from Hue to the management posts for a while to create the spread, ”Hoang Ngoc Gia said.
"Employees are an asset to an enterprise. This asset also needs to be invested to increase the value and profit in the future. However, few employers understand this; most consider employees as tools to make money, not focusing on building the enterprise culture. This will make the enterprise operation unstable, the employees unattached, the recruitment and training costs rise. Shaping the culture of enterprise from the origin, though “far away”, is Hoang Ngoc Gia’s greatest success up to this point,” shared Mr. Ton Bao Khanh.
The story of Nguyen Dinh Thuan, Đại Bàng (Eagle) Communication and Tourism Joint Stock Company is another new perspective on promoting Hue image through tourist routes. Although formed and developed only for 5 years, besides Thua Thien Hue, the company has the branches in Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and the next targets in 2019 will be Da Nang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Nguyen Dinh Thuan, developing the branches is a natural thing to do. However, in the short term, it is necessary to build a cultural standard so that the models developed in other provinces will also be imbued with that style and cultural standard. That is how to build the brand in the most sustainable way.
Each enterprise will plan a different business strategy of its own. However, the common point of the enterprises in Hue Ancient Capital upon entering the market in other province is the desire to enable the culture of enterprises to reach out. The enterprise itself is eager for self-assertion, seeking opportunities for reinvestment.
Mr. Le Quy Dinh affirmed that the investment in other provinces will offer an opportunity to access the working environment and new techniques, thereby making the change steps to change people. Expanding investment outside the province will build a system of companies across the country, whereby the profit from the above projects will be reinvested in the province. Several years recently, the profits from production and business activities of the company have been reinvested in many projects in the province such as Phu Bai 4 Industrial Zone, Tam Thai Housing Area and so on.
Story and photos: HOANG LOAN