Mr. Vu Manh Hung, Chairman and CEO of Hung Nhon Group, on his secret to success: "Seize the Opportunity, Go All In."

"The market has forged my courage, and failure has taught me endurance and the willingness to... take risks," shared Mr. Vu Manh Hung.

In 2001, entrepreneur Vu Manh Hung ventured into chicken farming. Just two years later, a devastating bird flu pandemic wiped out his entire business. Undeterred, he rebuilt from scratch, only to face another setback.

It seemed his "chicken farm dream" might be over for good. However, in 2007, Hung surprised many by launching Binh Phuoc province's largest chicken farm. Just a year later, it generated over 117 billion VND in revenue. Today, Hung Nhon Group boasts a total capital nearing one trillion VND, featuring a laying hen flock of 320,000, 300,000 broiler chickens, a pig farm with 9,600 sows, and a fertilizer plant with a capacity of 40,000 tons per year.

Vu Manh Hung on Resilience: "The Market Forged My Courage, Failure Taught Me Endurance and Daring"

DAK LAK – After twice losing everything, Mr. Vu Manh Hung, Chairman and CEO of Hung Nhon Group, candidly reflects on the deep motivations behind his unwavering perseverance in building his farming empire.

Question: What motivated you to persist in building your farm after two failures?

"After two bankruptcies, I lost my business 'fire' because all my capital was gone," Mr. Hung shared. "Following the path of livestock farming has truly been a journey with too many ups and downs for me. There were many times I wanted to give up, especially when imported chickens flooded the market and mine piled up in inventory, while bank interest rates hit 27% per year. But then I looked at my 600 employees and the career I had built, and I motivated myself to continue."

"After the second failure, I asked myself why I failed. Why could others succeed while I kept facing one failure after another? Unable to find an answer, I was restless. One night, I suddenly got up and decided I had to 'go out' and see how others were doing business. The old saying, 'Go one day, learn a basket of wisdom,' is truly correct. When I visited chicken farms in Thailand and Germany, I discovered my failures were due to raising chickens in open sheds. The only way to solve this was to invest in modern, 'cold-house' farming technology."

"Despite my family's objections, I decided to try for a third time. Gathering savings and borrowing capital, I invested in a closed chicken farm, with all the chicken houses equipped with air conditioning. On a 20-hectare area, I adopted the most advanced model from the Federal Republic of Germany. The breeding process is 100% automated, monitoring temperature, humidity, water intake, and daily feed for each chicken. With this process, Hung Nhon's chicken farm supplies over 4,500 tons of clean chicken meat to the market each year."

Question: If the 'secret' is just farming technology, then any business could succeed, couldn't it, sir?

"In business, the advantage lies in the willingness to act and choosing the right time to do so," Mr. Hung asserted. "During the bird flu epidemic, the real estate market was also 'hot.' In terms of profit, 'speculating' in stocks and real estate at that time was far more lucrative than investing in production, especially agricultural production, which inherently carries many risks."

"Moreover, building a farm is not as easy as many people think. The investment cost for a 20-hectare farm is around 200 billion VND, along with many other arising issues. If you're not sharp, not willing to accept failure, not passionate, you can't do large-scale agriculture. In fact, it's not just about having a lot of money; you need to understand technology, recognize which technology is most suitable and effective."

"Seeing the immense potential of modern agriculture, coupled with the 'calling of the profession' that kept pursuing me, I decided to face difficulties once more to reach my chosen goal. With the mindset that once you start something, you must see it through, giving it your full heart and effort, not investing half-heartedly—that's why I succeeded."

Question: Such determination, but honestly, were you afraid of failing again at that time?

"If I had to fail one more time, there would be nothing to fear," Mr. Hung responded. "However, starting up for the third time, I was very confident because I had the technology, even the experience of past failures, plus the willingness to act. But technology alone is not enough; you also need stable market access."

"Therefore, parallel to investing, I partnered with a Thai Joint Stock Company to guarantee the purchase of finished chickens. At the same time, to ensure sustainable business and minimize risks, I chose an integrated model comprising De Heus (feed supplier), Bel Ga (breeding stock supplier), Hung Nhon (farming operations), and San Ha (slaughterhouse company). With this 'four-legged stool,' we will share profits and losses."

Question: In business, spreading investments too thinly can lead to failure. Did you consider this when investing in pig farming, fertilizer production, and rubber cultivation?

"From the success of the cold chicken farm, I developed a pig farming model with a scale of 9,600 sows, supplying over 300,000 piglets annually to farmers in the Southeastern region and 25,000 commercial pigs," Mr. Hung explained. "This is the most modern model, on par with countries in the region, with an investment of over 170 billion VND. In my opinion, investing in a closed livestock chain is logical and solves the risk problem by 'not putting all your eggs in one basket.' For example, when chicken prices fall, there's pork; when pork prices fall, there are chicken eggs..."

"Recently, Hung Nhon also signed a cooperation agreement with De Heus to build a 'Safe Food Valley' in Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai provinces with a total capital of $50 million, developing a closed livestock chain from breeding stock to finished products. Our goal is to provide a chain of clean, traceable products to the market. The closed business model, from input to output, helps us minimize costs and create jobs for workers."

"In an open business world, fragmented, small-scale investments with outdated technology, low productivity, and unsafe product quality will struggle to survive. Once you have the right direction, you must mobilize resources to create sufficient financial potential; only then can you seize opportunities and keep pace with market development trends."

Question: What are your thoughts on brand building?

"A brand is essentially a company's certificate of trustworthiness," Mr. Hung stated. "Therefore, it's an essential path for businesses to assert themselves. And there's only one way to create high-quality products, with responsibility towards consumers and the environment."

Question: For many years, there have been concerns about imported chickens 'killing' domestic chicken production. As Chairman of the Southeastern Livestock Association and Binh Phuoc Livestock Association, what are your recommendations?

"In my opinion, the government needs policies to protect domestic livestock businesses and farmers," Mr. Hung suggested. "Currently, our biggest advantage is cheap labor and local farming, but the cost of one kilogram of chicken cannot be less than 20,000 VND. However, the price of imported chicken is only 15,000-16,000 VND. It's worth noting that chicken prices in Belgium and the Netherlands are 50,000-60,000 VND/kg. Regulations in other countries stipulate that expired chicken meat must be destroyed, and the cost of destruction is very high. Therefore, it's possible that this product has been imported into Vietnam, and if so, the chicken quality is certainly questionable."

"The government also needs protective policies for livestock farmers, such as a lending interest rate of 5% per year, for instance. A current inadequacy is that it's very difficult for Vietnamese food products to be exported due to the stringent quality and food safety regulations of importing countries, while imported food products enter Vietnam very easily. For example, when exporting pigs abroad, livestock businesses are required to have wastewater certified as Type A (potable water), a standard that almost no livestock business currently meets."

Question: You believe livestock farming has great potential, and thus competition will be fierce?

"Many businesses investing capital in agricultural production is a good sign because when more people participate, there will be greater collective strength," Mr. Hung observed. "That also motivates us to find ways to scale up production. My investment philosophy is: if I don't know it, I don't do it. In modern livestock farming, I've been ahead of many other businesses for years, so I'm even less afraid of competition. At this point, I can say that Hung Nhon's farms are superior to those in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand in terms of scale, technology, and land area."

Question: What have you learned from working with foreign partners for twenty years?

"Before, I was just a 'barefoot entrepreneur,' not paying much attention to appearance, just wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and rubber boots around the farm. When clients visited, I'd meet them in the same attire. My communication was even quite unrefined. But now, doing business globally, I've had to change everything from how I dress and carry myself to how I communicate. Even my approach to recruiting personnel is different. In the past, I prioritized local leadership; now, I demand higher qualifications and prefer candidates from Ho Chi Minh City or foreign companies. Or, before, paying high salaries to employees seemed daunting; now, the higher the salary, the higher their contribution to the company's profits."

"However, the biggest change I've learned from foreign partners is patience. Especially in business relationships, they don't care about personal matters; they only care about your work and your credibility. In work, they highly value responsibility, only stopping when the job is done, not when the clock runs out."

Question: And what has failure given you?

"The market forged my courage, and failure taught me endurance and the willingness to... take risks," Mr. Hung concluded. "I'm currently nurturing a plan to open a vocational school for farmers so they can gain more knowledge and skills to reduce their reliance on manual labor."

Question: Have you ever been unsettled by public opinion?

"Yes, of course! Even bruised. But the ultimate goal in my life is my family, so I know when to let go of things I don't need to dwell on. You have to know how to choose your friends and choose partners for the long haul. Just do right, live well, and you'll find peace. My life philosophy is: give and you shall receive."

Question: Thank you for your candid sharing!

Báo Doanh nhân Sài Gòn