Vietnam private co. Huy Hoang on brink of collapse report
HANOI - Huy Hoang Co., one of Vietnam's most prominent private businesses, is on the brink of collapse with debts of
more than $40 million, local media reported Thursday.
Established in the southern hub of Ho Chi Minh City in 1990 - four years after the launch of the country's Doi Moi (renovation)
reforms - Huy Hoang was considered as one of the most sucessful private businesses, frequently visited by foreign dignitaries
and media.
During its heyday until 1993, Huy Hoang employed nearly 2,000 workers in garment factories and construction. Its owner Le
Van Kiem was reportedly leading a lavish life with a fleet of several limousines and the only Rolls-Royce in Vietnam.
Kiem - along with Pham Huy Phuoc, director of Tamexco; Tang Minh Phung, director of Minh Phung Co.; and Lien Khui Thin,
director of Epco - had been considered dynamic enterpreneurs who knew how to make use of the government's then-fledgling
open-door policy to develop their businesses.
However, all have since collapsed. Phuoc was executed by a firing squad for fraud and corruption. Phung and Thin have been
sentenced to death after being convicted of the same charges.
The Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper quoted a report from a special government team investigating Huy Hoang as saying the
company's debts have grown to $40.7 million in bank loans and deferred letters of credit.
Huy Hoang's financial problems began in 1995 when the company spent a large chunk of money on numerous real-estate
development projects in the resort cities of Vung Tau and Dalat and in Ho Chi Minh City.
The real-estate market was frozen soon afterward, and Huy Hoang's debts accumulated, the paper said.
It said Kiem asked Ho Chi Minh City's government for help late last year because the company was unable to repay its huge
debts.
Associated Press - August 10, 2000.
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