Billionaire of Quynh Lap coastal village

Conquer the open sea

Portrait of billionaire fisherman Le Hoi Hung in Quynh Lap commune (Hoang Mai town). Photo: Thanh Phuc

Born in 1979 in Quynh Lap commune (tHoang Mai townFrom a young age, Le Hoi Hung was familiar with the sound of the sea waves, with mornings spent waiting at the fish market with his mother for his father's boat to return, and was intimately acquainted with the salty, pungent taste of fish, shrimp, and squid. He grew up surrounded by his father's seafaring profession and the catches his mother sold at distant markets.

After graduating from high school, seeing how arduous and thankless the fishing profession was, he considered leaving it by joining the Youth Union and attending a training course to become a village militia leader. However, his love for the sea and fishing pulled him back, urging him to abandon his desk job and return to the sea, to boats, and to voyages where he "endures the waves and winds."

In 2006, he and a brother pooled their resources to buy a fishing boat. They risked their lives at sea, battling the waves, but because the boat was small, their income was meager.

After five years of struggling, he had to sell his boat and shift his focus to providing onshore logistics services for the fishing industry. He bought seafood from fishing boats and transported it for sale throughout the province and beyond. His diligence, hard work, and reputable business practices quickly earned him customers, and his business prospered.

Preparing to set sail. Photo: Thanh Phuc

After a long period of struggling with buying and selling, and accumulating some money, he happened to be there when the government was supporting fishermen in building ships under Decree 67. Mr. Hung invested all his savings, plus borrowed capital, to build two new 822 HP fishing vessels and returned to the open sea to exploit marine resources. With large ships and powerful engines, he thrived thanks to the bounty of the sea. With capital, he continuously invested in purchasing more large-capacity vessels to conquer distant fishing grounds, seek out new fishing grounds, and fish in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos, generating nearly 10 billion VND in revenue each year and creating jobs for hundreds of workers.

Creating livelihoods for local workers.

Le Hoi Hung's fleet of 18 ships all have shares owned by his fellow crew members. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Locals often jokingly call Le Hoi Hung a "billionaire" or "king of fishing boats" because he owns a fleet of 18 boats that regularly go out to sea and fish efficiently. However, he only considers himself a seasoned fisherman. "Those 18 fishing boats aren't mine alone. I have more capital, so I invest more, but the rest belongs to my crew. I've allowed the crew members to contribute capital to the boats out there; each person is a shareholder, with rights and responsibilities aligned. That way, they'll stay with me and the sea for the long term," Hung explained.

It was observed in the communeQuynh LapThe fishing industry is thriving, with the entire commune having 146 offshore fishing vessels, yielding an annual catch of over 30,000 tons. However, the logistics services for the fishing industry are very weak. In distant fishing grounds, requiring long fishing trips, frequent trips to shore for refueling, ice, supplies, and transporting the catch back to shore are time-consuming, fuel-intensive, increase trip costs, and reduce fishing productivity.

Since the introduction of fishing logistics support vessels, fishermen can fish with peace of mind. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Le Hoi Hung said: "In 2008, I and 9 other members established the Doan Ket Cooperative, leasing land to provide logistics services for the fishing industry, a commercial market, and opening 6 fish drying and steaming facilities, creating jobs for 300 local workers; I personally invested capital in building an ice production facility, a gas station, and a fishmeal grinding factory, creating regular jobs for 140 workers with monthly salaries ranging from 9-10 million VND/month.”

Since the introduction of fishing logistics service vessels, fishermen can fish with peace of mind, without worrying about their fish spoiling due to prolonged storage and the associated preservation costs; they also no longer fear shortages of fuel, ice, and other necessities for their voyages. As a result, catch yields have steadily increased, and economic efficiency has clearly improved.

Le Hoi Hung's cold storage facility. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“Fishermen go out to sea, clinging to the ocean to exploit marine resources. We buy their fish and shrimp, supply them with fuel and necessities, and they sell their fish and shrimp back to us, serving our factories and production plants. This is a ‘win-win’ situation, mutually beneficial for development. If the fishermen have good catches and efficient exploitation, our factories will have raw materials for processing; conversely, if we do well, do business skillfully, and make a profit, then the fishermen, our fellow crew members, and local workers will have jobs and income. To progress and achieve sustainable business, we must unite, share, and benefit together,” Mr. Hung shared.

A person for the community

He dedicates a portion of his annual income from fishing and related logistics to forest conservation and preservation. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With his accumulated savings, he reinvested in upgrading boats, machinery, workshops, and modern production lines to both improve production and business efficiency and protect the environment. In particular, a portion of this was dedicated to protecting 21 hectares of pine and eucalyptus forest along the coast of Quỳnh Lập, which his father had planted since 1995.

“Every year, the cost of caring for and protecting the forest amounts to hundreds of millions of dong. Meanwhile, due to the harsh coastal climate, pine trees grow slowly, so there has been no exploitation. Investing in this degraded forest is a significant loss from an economic standpoint, but the biggest profit is the living environment, the greenery for our homeland, for the future, and for combating extreme weather events caused by climate change,” shared Mr. Le Hoi Hung.

Mr. Hung is always ready to share his fishing techniques and business experience with other fishermen. Photo: Thanh Phuc

If, as the old saying goes, "giving silver or gold is not as good as showing the way to do business," then Mr. Hung is ready to share his techniques in fishing and his business experience to help other fishermen fish and exploit resources effectively; he supports them with loans, providing them with advance payments and gradually recovering them without interest; and he is ready to assist and support boats at sea when they encounter problems... At the same time, he recruits poor and disadvantaged workers to work in his workshops and factories with a stable income.

Furthermore, he has made numerous contributions to the community: building 1.2 km of concrete road worth 1.8 billion VND; supporting the fund to eliminate dilapidated thatched houses; constructing a lighting system; providing financial assistance for poor students' education... By enriching himself, creating livelihoods for those around him, and always being deeply committed to doing good for the community, Mr. Le Hoi Hung deserves to be recognized as an outstanding Vietnamese farmer and a model of excellent production and business at all levels.

Mr. Hung always prioritizes hiring disadvantaged local children to work in his production and business establishments. Photo: Thanh Phuc