CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Hon Tre Island in Central Vietnam once felt like the end of the world. It was dry, windswept and easy to overlook, a stretch of land with no power grid, no fresh water and no clear path to development. It sat quietly in Nha Trang Bay, known to locals but rarely considered by investors. But in 2001, when Pham Nhat Vuong returned to Vietnam after years building Technocom into one of Ukraine’s most successful food companies, this unlikely island became one of the first places where he focused his renewed attention.

Vuong came home after a decade in Eastern Europe that had turned instant noodles into a national staple and created thousands of stable jobs. He brought with him capital and confidence, but also a sharpened sense of what Vietnamese entrepreneurs could achieve on the global stage. The contrast between Kharkov’s busy factories and Hòn Tre’s silence could not have been greater. Many people dismissed the idea of developing the island at all, let alone building a luxury resort. Some said it would be like throwing money into the sea. But Vuong and his early team saw a blank canvas where others saw inhospitable terrain.

The project moved ahead. After eighteen months of construction, a five-star resort opened its doors. Its speed and scale signaled a new kind of ambition within Vietnam’s private sector. Then came the cable car, stretching 3.2 kilometers across the Nha Trang sea. For fifteen years, it held the title of the world’s longest over water cable car, an engineering achievement that few thought possible in Vietnam.

That first success gave rise to Vinpearl, which evolved into a nationwide network of resorts, entertainment complexes, golf courses and hospitality assets. Today, the brand had grown into an ecosystem of 57 facilities in 19 provinces and cities, anchoring some of Vietnam’s most sought after destinations. In October 2025, Vinpearl was recognized by Brand Finance as the strongest brand in Southeast Asia, a milestone that underscored how an audacious bet on an overlooked island became the foundation for the country’s leading tourism brand.

In hindsight, what rose on Hon Tre became the first clear expression of an instinct that would guide Vingroup for the next two decades, dare to dream big. Vingroup applied the same approach to each new sector it entered: choose a difficult challenge, execute with speed and build to world-class standards. That philosophy shaped its next frontier: Mobility.

VinFast Goes Global

VinFast emerged with the explicit goal of helping Vietnam build its own modern automotive industry. Vuong’s public statements made the motivation clear. “If it were only for money, Vingroup would not be foolish enough to make cars,” he said. In an interview, he called the venture a “devotion project”.

Domestically, VinFast quickly changed Vietnam’s mobility landscape. In the first nine months of 2025, it became the first carmaker in Vietnam’s history to surpass one hundred thousand electric vehicles sold, reaching a cumulative total of 103,884 units by the end of the third quarter. Its VF 3, VF 5, VF 6 and VF 7 models led electric vehicle sales in their respective segments. In October 2025, it set another unprecedented record by delivering more than 20,000 vehicles in a single month, raising the ten-month total to 124,264 cars nationwide and maintaining its position as the top automotive brand in Vietnam for twelve straight months.

International expansion followed a well-defined and customer-focused strategy. VinFast established a growing presence across North America, Europe and key markets such as Indonesia, the Philippines and the Middle East before moving into India. In India, by late October 2025, VinFast had 24 operational dealerships with a goal of 35 by year end. Each showroom was built to global retail standards and supported the launch of the premium VF 6 and VF 7 in the market. The Tamil Nadu plant, covering 400 acres, is designed for 50,000 vehicles per year in its first phase and scalable to 150,000. When fully operational, it is expected to create thousands of direct jobs and several thousand more across the supply chain.

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