Who is Lê Phước Vũ?
Lê Phước Vũ was born on 28/5/1963 in Quy Nhơn, Bình Định, and is a Vietnamese businessman who currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Sen Group. He belongs to the generation of private entrepreneurs who came of age during the period when Vietnam's economy shifted to operating under market mechanisms, when establishing enterprises and expanding production and business became a legal and common path. His name is closely tied to a domestic steel industry enterprise, specifically the coated steel sheet segment.
What was his career path before he came to the steel sheet industry?
Before committing to the steel sheet industry, he went through various jobs: working in a contracted vehicle team, driving a passenger car, serving as a foreman in a woodworking workshop, and managing a construction materials store. This chain of jobs shows a process of accumulating practical experience in many positions, from direct labour to management, before entering the path of independent business. In 1994, with 2 taels of gold in savings, he opened a steel sheet trading store. The early period involved many difficulties, but he gradually stabilised and expanded with additional stores, building more steel sheet workshops. This was the starting point of the chain of activities that followed, and is also the part recorded as a story of starting a business from small capital.
How was Hoa Sen Group established and shaped?
In August 2001, he founded Hoa Sen Joint Stock Company with 22 employees and initial charter capital of 30 billion đồng. By 2007, the company changed its name to Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company. Thanks to continuous learning about technology and business, he led the group to rapid development. By 2021, Hoa Sen Group held 38.7% of the coated steel sheet market share and had charter capital of up to 4,446 billion đồng. The move from a steel sheet trading store to a joint stock company and then to a group was a shift in organisational model, not merely an increase in scale.
Which milestones are notable in the development process?
- 2001: Founded Hoa Sen Joint Stock Company.
- 2007: Changed its name to Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company.
- 2021: The group held 38.7% of the coated steel sheet market share, with charter capital of 4,446 billion đồng.
- Fiscal year 2020-2021: Hoa Sen posted after-tax profit of 4,313 billion đồng, a record since its founding.
- Fiscal year 2024-2025: In the first 8 months, after-tax profit was 567 billion đồng, averaging 70 billion đồng per month.
These milestones are notable because they mark changes in the enterprise's structure and in business results. The figure of 38.7% of the coated steel sheet market share is a major position in a materials manufacturing industry, where market share is often tied to production capacity and distribution systems. The after-tax profit of 4,313 billion đồng in fiscal year 2020-2021 was recorded as a record since its founding, meaning the highest in its entire operating history up to that point. The results for the first 8 months of fiscal year 2024-2025 show a different period, with profit much lower than the record peak, reflecting business activity that rises and falls with cycles.
How are his assets and position recorded?
Mr Lê Phước Vũ currently owns more than 81 million Hoa Sen shares, equivalent to 16.57% of the shares. With assets of more than 4,000 billion đồng, he is regarded as one of the richest people in Vietnam. This way of recording is based on the value of the shares held, so the asset figure is tied to fluctuations in the share price on the market. The proportion of 16.57% of shares shows that he is a major shareholder, but does not own the entire enterprise.
Which personal plans have been mentioned?
He has shared plans to hand over the enterprise to his daughter, and intends to become a monk after 2026. This is information of the personal sharing type, stated in the source and not a fact about the group's business operations. This part should be distinguished from the enterprise milestones: milestones such as the founding year, the renaming year, market share, and profit are facts tied to the company's operations; whereas the handover plan and the intention to become a monk are things he said about himself, and may change over time.