Vietnamese “chaebols”: Tu Huong ‘Empire' and Nam A Bank Nam A Commercial Joint Stock Bank has changed a lot during its development process, but there is an "invariable" aspect, which is the dominant power of Mrs. Tu Huong’s family.   Mrs. Tu Huong. Mrs. Tran Thi Huong or Tu Huong was born in the central province of Binh Dinh. She is considered one of the wealthiest female entrepreneurs in Vietnam. At the age of nearly 80, she still holds the highest position in a corporation with dozens of subsidiaries and investment partners. She is also a counselor at the Nam A Bank, where her three children take turns holding the highest position in the Board of Directors. Though her fortune has never been disclosed, Huong is believed to be one of the richest persons in Vietnam. Huong used to work as a tailor, then married and started a business in the industrial sector (within 5 years). She quickly got rich thanks to real estate. In 1993, she founded the Hoan Cau Ltd. (Universe Corporation), specializing in the fields of real estate and construction materials. This business has 10 subsidiaries, with total charter capital (as of 2010) approximately VND6 trillion. In 2008, to host the Miss Universe pageant, Huong spent about $65 million in the Diamond Bay Resort and events around the competition. In the 90s, Huong was known for two business deals in the drinks industry, including the $15 million investment to build the Vinagel brewery and then sold it to San Miguel for $25 million. She later spent $5 million to build a soft drink plant and sold it to Lipovital for $17 million. Nam A Bank is a typical example of the newly-formed family business in Vietnam. In addition to the position of senior advisor of Tu Huong, other key positions in the bank are held by Tu Huong’s family members. Previously, the Chair and Vice Chair of Nam A Bank were Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Loan and Mr. Nguyen Quoc My, Tu Huong’s children. Mr. Huynh Thanh Chung, Tu Huong’s son in law, was a member of the board of directors of this bank. Most recently, at the annual shareholders’ meeting of Nam A Bank in 2014, changes to senior personnel at the bank were approved. Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Xuan Loan and two members of the board of directors stepped down, including Huynh Thanh Chung (Vice Chair) and Tran Anh Tuan (board member). Two new members were elected, Nguyen Quoc Toan (Tu Huong’s eldest son) and Tran Ngo Phuc Vu. Toan will replace Loan as the new chair. Thus, Tu Huong’s two sons are the Chair and Vice Chair of Nam A Bank. Toan currently also holds important positions at Universe Corporation. In early 2013, Tu Huong’s daughter-in-law, beauty queen Duong Truong Thien Ly, Toan’s wife, became a big shareholder of Nam A Bank, with 14.7 million shares, equivalent to 4.92% of the total shares. In addition, Tu Huong and her husband - Nguyen Chan – own 4.96% and 3.48% of charter capital at the bank. The Rong Thai Binh Duong Ltd. (Pacific Dragon), a subsidiary of Universe Corporation, has more than 10% shares of Nam A Bank. This company’s boss is Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan. Constantly increasing power   Mrs. Tu Huong and her children, who hold key positions at Nam A Bank. It can easily be noticed that the change in senior personnel at Nam A Bank has demonstrated the intention of increasing the power of Tu Huong’s family in the bank. Thanks to this change, the position of Nguyen Quoc Toan – Tu Huong’s eldest son – has been enhanced in the two main areas of real estate and banking. Earlier, the chairmanship of Nam A Bank belonged to  Nguyen Quoc My (Tu Huong’s son),  Huynh Thanh Chung  (Tu Huong’s son in law), and Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Loan (daughter). Currently, with three of 8 members of the family present on the board of directors and over 13% of shares, the position of Tu Huong’s family in this bank is very stable, and the family can dominate bank's activities. A noteworthy point at the recent shareholders’ meeting of Nam A Bank is the plan to increase its charter capital from VND3 trillion to VND4 trillion through the issuance of 100 million shares to the public. Of these, 40 million shares will be sold to  existing shareholders, 5 million for staff employees and 55 million for other domestic investors. Some people question whether the 55 million shares would be a "trump card" to help Tu Huong’s family adjust the ownership in Nam A Bank, and further enhance this family’s dominance in this bank. By the end of 2014, the total assets of Nam A Bank reached VND37,293 billion, 7% over of the yearly plan. Mobilized capital reached VND33,481 billion, accounting for 90% of total assets, 13% over the yearly target. The bank’s outstanding loans by the end of 2014 were VND16,629 billion, consisting of VND8,671 billion of short-term loans (52% of total loans) and VND7,958 billion of medium- and long-term loans (48% of the outstanding loans). The bank’s pre-tax profit also rose by 32% to VND242 billion. Dividend rate in 2014 was 4%, equivalent to VND120 billion. $1 = VND21,600 NDT