Berjaya Vietnam CEO Nguyen Hoai Nam talks about Vincom Retail investment, ‘secret’: The crucial part of multi-sector investment is to dare to give up, and to give up drastically

Vincom Retail’s (stock code VRE) annual general shareholders’ meeting has elected Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam (born in 1970) as a member of the company’s board of directors. Mr. Nam is currently the General Director of Berjaya Vietnam – a branch of the diversified Berjaya Corporation Berhad group in Malaysia. This company owns many famous real estate properties such as Sheraton Hanoi, Long Beach Phu Quoc, Hanoi City Garden, Bien Hoa City…

Mr. Nam also holds leadership positions at many other companies, such as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nam Huong Communication and Investment JSC, NP Trading and Investment JSC, and JVA Ho Chi Minh City Co., Ltd. (Jeep Vietnam).

The candidacy for Vincom Retail’s BOD came after Vingroup Group divested and 4 companies in Ho Chi Minh City acquired a total of 55% of SDI Co., Ltd. – the entity owning over 99% of the charter capital of Sado Trading Business JSC (the company directly holds 41.5% of VRE’s capital).

Of these 4 companies, NP Trading and Investment JSC holds 16%, a legal entity 90% owned by Mr. Hoai Nam.

Sharing with us, Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam said that the investment by him and new shareholders in Vincom Retail at this time is “right place – right time”.

“I AM NOT JOINING VINCOM RETAIL AS BERJAYA AS MANY PEOPLE MISUNDERSTAND”

Why did you decide to invest in Vincom Retail when Vingroup divested, sir?

Vincom Retail is a leading retail real estate developer in Vietnam, currently managing and operating 83 shopping malls in prime locations in over 40 provinces and cities. In the coming time, the company will continue to develop rapidly to 89 shopping malls covering 48 provinces and cities by the end of 2024.

I believe that Vincom Retail’s coverage will continue to increase in the future. Therefore, I assess that this is a good opportunity to participate in investment and accompany Vincom Retail for a long time. I believe my decision will bear sweet fruit.

According to regulations, shareholders holding from 10% or more of the company’s shares are nominated as members of the Board of Directors. I am fortunate to be nominated for this position by new shareholders who bought shares from Vingroup.

Personally, I am one of the new investors who acquired part of Vingroup’s capital contribution to SDI. I do not participate as a representative of Berjaya as some newspapers have misunderstood.

Vincom Retail’s shareholders have just approved the 2023 business results and the 2024 business plan. What are your expectations for your first term and what will you contribute to the company’s governance?

I personally assess Vincom Retail as a good company, with many competitive advantages, operating methodically, so the value of the company will continue to increase in the future. That’s also why I participated in investing with the expectation of being a part of Vincom Retail’s value-added journey.

I plan to share my investment experience and experience in the real estate and retail industry with the company’s leaders and support Vincom Retail in working more with international and domestic partners, thereby contributing to the fulfillment of the set goals.

In 2023, Vincom again continued not to pay dividends. As a new investor and major shareholder, what do you think about this?

As I shared, Vincom Retail is a very promising company and will continue to increase in value in the future. The non-distribution of dividends has also been agreed by the Board of Directors and presented to shareholders at the General Meeting, expressing the desire to retain profits for continued reinvestment, serving Vincom Retail’s business plans and development in the coming time. I have great faith in this and am ready to accompany the company.

The Vietnamese retail real estate market is currently very competitive and has the participation of many large foreign companies. There are opinions that when Vingroup divested, Vincom Retail will lose ground to foreign companies, what is your opinion?

I assess that the market size is still large and Vincom Retail’s shopping mall locations are quite exclusive, different from other investors. For example, in Vinhomes projects from the past to the present, there is always Vincom Center or Vincom Mega Mall. In Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or other cities, Vincom is almost the first to appear, so it has very good locations. I am not concerned about competition.

I assess that the market size is still large and Vincom Retail’s shopping mall locations are quite exclusive, different from other investors.

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, CEO of Berjaya Vietnam, member of Vincom Retail’s Board of Directors

INVESTMENT: YOU HAVE TO DARE TO GIVE UP AND GIVE UP DETERMINATELY

There is a lot of information about you in the media, most notably the “blockbuster” deals that Berjaya has made in Vietnam. First of all, can you tell me how you came to be with the Berjaya Group?

I was 35 years old at that time and Berjaya Group had no projects in Vietnam. Coincidentally, through a consulting firm, I came into contact with the Berjaya Chairman. Before that, I had never met him. The businessman asked me many things about Vietnam and I also answered according to my own feelings.

A week later, he invited me to work. I accepted because I saw a lot of challenges.

In this position, there is only one thing, that is that the CEOs of corporations are never lonely, but there are many worries, concerns and few people to share with. I run a foreign corporation, a professional executive, so joining the Malaysian Business Association is not complete and joining the Vietnam Business Association is even more wrong, so it can be said that it is even more lonely.

Diversified operations have the advantage of “one industry supports another” when times are tough. However, diversified operations are subject to the pressure of dispersing resources and the proof is that many large entrepreneurs in Vietnam have given up their diversified ambitions to focus on their core areas. How do you manage your diversified business career?

I believe that no matter what industry you’re in, there will be ups and downs. There is no general secret for everyone but I think the most important thing is to dare to give up, and to give up decisively. For example, when I see that there is no prospect or potential, I will withdraw decisively.

Is that what you thought when you sold the Shop&Go chain to Vingroup for $1?

Shop&Go was a failure but I think the decision to sell at that time was still right. Because if there had been no such deal, we would have decided too late and could have failed more severely.

I think that the Vietnamese retail market is very potential due to its large and dynamic population, but it is not easy to find the right formula. I am summarizing the story about the convenience store chain, not retail in general.

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