Six Vietnamese billionaires are named in the Forbes' latest rich list. (Photo: VOV News)
Forbes states that it compiled the list by evaluating an individual's assets based on stock prices and exchange rates as of March 5,.
According to this year’s World’s Billionaires list, the six richest Vietnamese people are Pham Nhat Vuong, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Tran Dinh Long, Ho Hung Anh, Tran Ba Duong, and Nguyen Dang Quang.
As owner of Vingroup, the country’s largest private conglomerate, Pham Nhat Vuong is notable for becoming the nation’s first billionaire and is featured on the list for the ninth consecutive year. He remains the richest Vietnamese man with a net worth of 8.7 billion USD, ranking 344th in the world.
Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao makes the list for the fifth time with a net worth of 2.7 billion USD, ranking 1,111th in the world. She is currently the vice chairwoman of HDBank, whilst also serving as the vice president and CEO of VietJet Air.
Furthermore, Tran Ba Duong is the chairman and founder of the Truong Hai Auto Company (Thaco) and has made the Forbes list since 2018. His current net worth stands at 1.6 billion USD, ranking 1,931st in the world.
Techcombank chairman Ho Hung Anh is named on the list for the third time with his net worth being the same as Duong.
Moving down the list, Tran Dinh Long, chairman of the Hoa Phat Group, re-joined the Forbes billionaire club after previously making an appearance in 2018. His assets total 2.4 billion USD, finishing 1,444th globally.
Meanwhile, Masan chairman Nguyen Dang Quang has returned to the list after being absent last year. His net worth currently stands at 1.2 billion USD.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and CEO, remains the richest person in the world for this year, with a net worth of 177 billion USD.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, ranks second with 151 billion USD, followed by Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, with a net worth of 150 billion USD, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft with 124 billion USD.
Fruit, vegetable exports bag nearly 950 million USD in first quarter
Fruit and vegetable exports to China, recovering after a decline in 2020, contributed to bringing fruit and vegetable export turnover in the first quarter of 2020 to nearly 950 million USD in the first quarter of 2021, a year-on-year rise of 6%.
Fruit, vegetable exports bounce back in the first quarter. (Photo: VNA)
Exports of fruits and vegetable only reached 3.26 billion USD in 2020 (down nearly 13%) due to being directly affected by the prolonged epidemic. China, which accounts for more than 65% of export turnover, witnessed the sharpest reduction of 25.7% (equivalent to 1.9 billion USD).
However, signs of a market recovery have been seen since the beginning of this year. According to statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in March 2021, the export value of vegetables and fruits reached USD 380 million, an increase of 6.3% over a year earlier. In the first 3 months of 2021, the figure reached 944 million USD, up 6.1%.
Some key markets have increased imports from Vietnam. Notably, China spent 352.83 million USD buying vegetables and fruit from Vietnam during January-February. The figure made up 62.5% of Vietnam’s total export value of the products and represented an annual increase of 17.5%.
It was followed by the US, Thailand, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Specifically, export value to Taiwan (China), Australia and Malaysia increased sharply at 43.1% (12.87 million USD), 30.6% (11.9 million USD) and 32.5% (9.2 million), respectively.
Van Phong to be developed into coastal EZ by 2025
At Van Phong economic zone. (Photo: Internet)
The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa will develop the Van Phong Economic Zone (EZ) into a coastal one that focuses on multi-sector development, turning it into an economic driving force of the province and the south central region, reported Vietnam News Agency.
According to an action programme on the development of the Van Phong EZ for the 2021-2025 period, the economic zone is expected to draw at least 150 trillion VND (6.5 billion USD) in investment, disburse at least 75 trillion VND, and contribute about 30-40 percent to the local State budget.
Its industrial – construction value will account for nearly 40 percent of the province’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) while around 10,000 jobs will be generated.
The province will focus on adjusting the master plan on the Van Phong EZ, effectively performing polices on investment promotion and investor support, pooling capital for key infrastructure in service of its function areas, reforming administrative procedures, protecting the environment, and ensuring national defence-security./.