Good morning Vietnam!

“In 1972, I was 17 years old and I spent a year with the Bhiksu to avoid joining the army”. Then adding a sweet smile Mr My continued “I learnt a huge amount about business, I can sell God, I can sell anything1”.

A humourous comment from a man who decided to get into a boat and flee his country on the day of the Vietnamese national holiday on 2 September 1979 (with the sadly famous “boat people”). He was 24 years old.  

After 18 days at sea, the 10m long boat with 42 people abord was on the verge of sinking when it was rescued by crew from an oil rig. Mr My was then sent to the largest refugee camp at the time, Pulau Bidong in Malaysia. He was one of the rare graduates among the immigrants and took the opportunity to travel to Canada just two months after leaving his country.  

On arrival, he was obliged to learn English and find odd jobs in order to send money back to his family still in Vietnam. For four years, he washed up, served and cleaned in a Vietnamese restaurant he knew and sent home some of his savings via “efficient” circuits (that nevertheless took a 20% commission!). At 28 years of age, he started afresh and resumed college studies in order to win the heart of his future wife. For seven years (!), he spent evenings working in the restaurant and days studying at the university to become an engineer and finally obtain a PhD in chemistry.  

Sought after by all the major companies, Mr My went to work for IBM and then Kodak where he discovered the world of printing and image reproduction. An ingenious engineer and talented in R&D, he obtained patents in pigments and just seven years after leaving university, he left Kodak to create his own company in Canada, inventing and patenting in all areas, and providing himself the means to live well and build his dreams.  

“I always knew I would be back one day for building an industry, some hospital and school… »2. Mr My’s dream is currently coming true. He returned to Vietnam in 2004 to build the high-tech industry group MYLAN in Travinh, in the Mekong delta near to the beach from where he fled 25 years previously.   

Today, this fascinating entrepreneur who trains his engineers and executives himself, defying all obstacles (“I turn them into opportunities” he often says), employs more than 500 people and has conquered 60% of the domestic market, selling his technology to Chinese printers and multiplying “green” initiatives in this field, which so sorely lacks them.

The company is not even 10 years old yet and is now attracting averted investors, with Jaccar the holding company belonging to Jacques de Chateauvieux (key shareholder in BOURBON) having just taken a $12m stake (30% of capital) in order to help Mr My continue to build a global leader from his lagging province, capable of rivalling the excellence of the best companies in developed countries.

We were extremely honoured to meet Mr My and are looking forward to his arrival on the Hô Chi Minh stockmarket (previously Saigon), where we will be delighted to invest our capital and prove to everyone that stock-picking is the future for management in these countries that are still referred to as emerging!  

Didier LE MENESTREL