Former NA official urges support of wealthy people who can help VN’s development “Let’s support the rich who are talented and whole-hearted, who can help the country’s development,” said Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung, former vice chairman of the National Assembly Office, about Vingroup, the largest private economic group in Vietnam.   Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung - 2017 saw the rise of the private sector. Which private firms impressed you the most? The strength of the national economy will depend more and more on private enterprises. TH True Milk has good quality and reliable agricultural products. Sungroup is known for its entertainment and tourism works. Hoa Phat operates well in various fields. VietJet Air is dynamic, but I do not have enough information about this business. Masan chose the market segment in a very practical way and it has also been very successful. In the fields of technology, FPT and CMC are good names, and even MISA – a small firm - has created a number of artificial intelligence products ... But I’m impressed the most with Vingroup. - You said you are most interested in Vingroup. In your opinion, what has this group contributed to our society? First of all, I must say that Vingroup is part of Vietnam's economic strength. Business capacity and the ability to create high quality products are indispensable if we want to have a powerful and competitive economy. I think this is Vingroup's most remarkable contribution to the country. We can also talk about infrastructure works developed by Vingroup like Royal City, Times City, Vinhomes Riverside, etc. These are high-quality urban areas with synchronous facilities. Visiting these urban areas, we feel like we are on modern streets in Europe... Who benefits from these urban areas? I think the first beneficiary is the growing middle class in Vietnam. However, beneficiaries can also be others thanks to the diffusion effect of these projects. For example, I can watch free music in Times City even though I own no apartment there. Thirdly, Vingroup has been able to make the most of talented people, the country's most valuable resources. The talented people here include overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who work for Vingroup. For example, former Vice President of GM is now General Director of Vinfast. This is not really noticeable, but in my opinion it is particularly important. Vingroup not only attracts talented people but it creates an environment for the talent to develop. Phi Anh is a very talented young man. At the age of 26 only, he was assigned as the director of the animation project named VinTaTa, which is invested in heavily by Vingroup. Utilizing talent is the great task of Vingroup. - With nearly 5,000 employees, on average, each Vingroup staff member is generating VND1.6 billion (nearly $80,000) of revenue per year, which is not a small number at all. What do you think about this?    Vingroup's VinMec offers free medical services for the poor worth VND1.5 trillion. Yes, Vingroup has contributed to increasing labor productivity, creating jobs and paying high salaries for nearly 50,000 workers. This has great social effect. With its large ecosystem and value chain, this group is likely to indirectly create jobs for tens of thousands of others. The fifth contribution of Vingroup is creating a competitive driving force among big enterprises and corporations. Vingroup has been actively creating new standards in its operating fields, benefiting its customers, and through this, improving the effectiveness of the national economy. - If you are the chief of a provincial Party Committee, then which firm will you offer the red carpet treatment for its investment? It seems that every locality is trying to attract Vingroup’s investment. Let’s see, if Vinfast operates at 100% capacity, then Hai Phong will have more than VND20 trillion of tax revenue from this project. - There is also the opinion that Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong mainly invests in the business to serve the rich, and the poor do not benefit from his wealth. What do you think about it? For businesses, choosing the right market segment is a matter of life and death. I think Vingroup has the right strategy because the middle class is developing very fast in Vietnam. Moreover, housing prices can only be cheap if the needs of the middle class do not fall into the cheap segment. Vingroup is the largest private taxpayer in Vietnam. They pay taxes to the state, and the state takes care of the poor and social security. In addition, I know that Vingroup has extracted thousands of billions of VND from its fund to do social and charity work. It’s a matter of whether they want to talk about it or not. - Are you afraid that your appreciation of Vingroup may cause someone to think about you in the wrong way? I have no relationship with Mr. Vuong or Vingroup. Except for a free water music show in the Times City, I do not owe them any debt of gratitude. I'm the descendant of scholars of Nghe An so I have to speak out the truth.  For more than half a century, the boycott against the rich has led our society to a dead end. Today, the time is ripe for us to change our behavior. Please support the rich who are talented and whole-hearted for the purpose of developing our country. Only then will our country soon become rich and prosperous! - Thank you! Minh Tuan, VNN