HANOI: The number of Vietnamese women in senior positions in public companies is still very small, but the picture does appear brighter if one looks at Viet Nam’s largest companies.
Of the 680 companies listed on the two national stock exchanges, only 5 per cent are under management of female CEOs. Yet, the market cap of these women-led companies accounted for VND260 trillion (US$11.6 billion), 20 per cent of Viet Nam’s total market capitalization.
Some of the biggest firms in Viet Nam, like dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM), real estate developer VinGroup (VIC), Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp (REE), FLC Group (FLC) and Kinh Bac City Development Share Holding Corp (KBC) are run by female CEOs.
Nguyen Van Quy, an analyst of FPT Securities Co, spoke to Viet Nam News about the small group of powerful Vietnamese female CEOs. He said, unlike some of their male counterparts, they were more likely to run a tight-ship, especially careful and detail-oriented in planning their business strategies.
One of these outstanding female leaders, Mai Kieu Lien, has worked in the industry for almost four decades and has served as Vinamilk’s CEO since 1992. “Mai Kieu Lien is one of the most powerful businesswomen. She has built a reputation for her decisiveness and care for employees and investors,” Quy said.
Lien has made it onto Forbes’ Asia’s Power Businesswomen list for several years and under her leadership, Vinamilk has recorded consistent growth in revenue and profit since listing in 2006.
Vinamilk is the biggest company on Vietnam’s stock market with a market cap of over $6 billion yesterday. Its shares have rallied 39 per cent this year.
“It’s very hard for women to be successful in their careers in Viet Nam since they are expected to take on two big positions; perhaps as a manager at company, but also as a wife and mother in the family,” Quy said.
