2 female dairy industry generals on the list of most powerful in Asia

Forbes magazine honored Ms. Mai Kieu Lien - Chairwoman and CEO of Vinamilk and Thai Huong - Chairwoman of TH Group.

Forbes magazine has just announced the list of 50 most powerful businesswomen in Asia (Asia's Power Businesswomen). This year's representatives come from 16 countries and participate in many business fields. China dominates the list with 14 representatives, followed by India, Thailand and Singapore.

This year, Vietnam has only two representatives. They are Ms. Mai Kieu Lien - Chairwoman and CEO of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) and Ms. Thai Huong - Chairwoman of TH Group.

Ms. Mai Kieu Lien has been in the Top 4 most powerful businesswomen in Asia for 4 consecutive years. (Photo: Forbes)

Forbes commented that Vinamilk is one of the most famous brands in Vietnam. According to research firm Nielsen, the company currently has 51% market share of liquid milk. The company's revenue in 2014 increased 14% to 1.7 billion USD thanks to 2 new factories. Ms. Mai Kieu Lien is trying to increase this figure to 3 billion USD in 2017 by expanding abroad.

Vinamilk currently exports to 30 countries and is increasing sales in the Middle East, Africa and Cuba. However, Vinamilk is also facing some difficulties. Profits last year were almost flat due to rising raw material prices, mainly imported milk powder.

Ms. Thai Huong is the newest Vietnamese representative on this list. She only entered the dairy sector in 2009 with a commitment to changing the Vietnamese dairy industry. Since then, TH Group has invested 450 million USD to import and raise cows, to produce clean milk with Israeli technology. The company currently owns a herd of 40,000 cows on an area of ​​8,100 hectares and is planning to increase it to 37,000 hectares.

Ms. Thai Huong is the second representative of Vietnam this year. (Photo: Forbes)

TH estimates its 2014 revenue to exceed $200 million with a one-third share of the domestic fresh milk market. This is a challenge for Vietnam’s largest dairy company, Vinamilk. Ms. Thai Huong joined the business in 1994 and is the founder of Bac A Bank. She is still the chairwoman of this bank.

To select this year's list, Forbes based on the following criteria: Company revenue (usually billions of USD), the candidate's position in the company and the level of participation in the work. Ms. Mai Kieu Lien has been on this list since 2012. In 2013, Vietnam had another representative, Ms. Pham Thi Viet Nga - Chairwoman of Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Company.

In 2013, Vietnam had 3 representatives, adding Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh - Chairwoman and CEO of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga - Chairwoman of Southeast Asia Commercial Bank (SeAbank)./.

According to Vov.vn