Billionaire of Quynh Lap fishing village

Conquer the 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 (t.Hoang Mai commune), since childhood, Le Hoi Hung has been familiar with the sound of the ocean waves, with the mornings at the fishing port with his mother waiting for his father's boat to return, and has become very familiar with the salty, fishy taste of fish, shrimp, and squid. He grew up from his father's fishing career, from the fish his mother sold at the faraway market.

After graduating from high school, seeing the hardship and ingratitude of the fishing profession, he intended to escape by joining the Youth Union and then attending a training course to become a village captain. However, his love for the sea and fishing kept him, urging him to quit his desk job and return to the sea, to boats, to trips of “eating waves and lying in the wind”.

In 2006, he and a brother pooled money to buy a boat and go fishing. Drifting on the sea, betting their lives on the white-capped waves, but because the boat had a small capacity, the income was not worth much.

After 5 years of working, he had to sell the boat and switch to providing onshore fishing logistics services. He bought seafood from fishing boats and transported it to sell throughout the province and other provinces. Being diligent, hardworking, and reputable, he quickly had customers and his business became more favorable.

Preparing to set sail. Photo: Thanh Phuc

After a long time of struggling to buy and sell, he saved up some money and it was at the time when the State had a policy to support fishermen in building ships according to Decree 67. Mr. Hung used all his savings plus borrowed capital to build a new pair of 822 CV ships and returned to the sea, clinging to the sea, and exploiting seafood. With a big ship, a big engine, clinging to the sea and going offshore, thanks to the blessings of the sea, his business was visibly prosperous. With capital, he continuously invested in purchasing pairs of large-capacity ships to conquer distant fishing grounds, search for new fishing grounds, fish in Hoang Sa, Truong Sa..., each year the revenue from fishing was nearly 10 billion VND; creating jobs for hundreds of workers.

Creating livelihoods for local workers

Mr. Le Hoi Hung's fleet of 18 boats all have shares held by fellow boatmen. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Locals often jokingly call Mr. Le Hoi Hung a “billionaire”, “king of fishing boats” because he is the owner of a fleet of 18 boats that regularly go offshore and exploit effectively. However, he only considers himself a veteran fisherman. “Those 18 fishing boats are not mine alone. I have more capital so I invest more, the rest belongs to my fellow fishermen. I let the crew members contribute capital to the boats that are going offshore, each person is a shareholder, rights go hand in hand with responsibilities. Only then will they be attached to me and the sea for a long time,” said Mr. Hung.

Found in the communeQuynh Lap, the seafood exploitation industry has developed strongly when the whole commune has 146 offshore fishing vessels, the annual exploitation output reaches over 30,000 tons. Meanwhile, the fishing logistics service is very weak. The fishing grounds are far away, the exploitation takes a long time, if we have to go ashore frequently to resupply fuel, ice, necessities and transport the caught seafood back to shore, it will take time, fuel, increase the cost of the trip and reduce the exploitation productivity.

Since the fishing logistics service ship was available, fishermen have been able to 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, rented land for fishing logistics services, a commercial market, opened 6 fish drying kilns to create jobs for 300 local workers; I personally invested in building an ice production facility, a gas station, a fish meal mill, creating regular jobs for 140 workers with a monthly salary of 9-10 million VND/month".

Since the fishing logistics service ship was available, fishermen have been able to fish with peace of mind, without worrying about fish being damaged over time, or having to spend money on preservation; and without fear of running out of oil, ice, or other necessities for their offshore journeys. Thanks to this, fishing output has increased day by day, and economic efficiency has improved significantly.

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

“Fishermen go out to sea, stick to the sea, exploit seafood, we buy fish and shrimp for them; supply them with fuel and necessities, they sell fish and shrimp back to us, serving our factories and production workshops. This is a “win-win” situation, supporting each other to develop. If people fish well and exploit effectively, then our factory will have raw materials for processing; conversely, if we do good business, do good business, and make a profit, then fishermen, fellow fishermen, and local workers will have jobs and income. If we want to go far, if we want to do business sustainably, we must unite, share, and benefit together,” Mr. Hung shared.

A man for the community

He spends part of his annual revenue from fishing and fishing logistics services to raise and protect forests. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With the accumulated money, he reinvested in upgrading boats, machinery, factories, and modern production lines to both increase production and business efficiency and protect the environment. In particular, a part of it is dedicated to protecting 21 hectares of coastal pine and eucalyptus forests in Quynh Lap that his father planted since 1995.

“Each year, the cost of forest care and protection is up to hundreds of millions of dong. Meanwhile, due to the harsh coastal climate, pine trees grow slowly, so there is no exploitation, so investing in this poor forest, if calculated economically, is a big loss, but the biggest profit is the living environment, the green for the homeland, for the future, for fighting against extreme weather due to climate change,” Mr. Le Hoi Hung shared.

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

If our ancestors said "giving silver and gold is not as good as showing us how to do business", Mr. Hung is willing to share techniques in exploitation and business experience so that other fishermen can fish and exploit effectively; support loans, let fishermen advance money and then gradually recover without interest; ready to support and help boats at sea when they encounter problems... At the same time, he recruits poor workers and those in difficult circumstances to work in his workshops and factories with a stable income.

In addition, he also has many contributions to the community: Building 1.2 km of concrete road worth 1.8 billion VND; supporting the fund to eliminate dilapidated thatched houses; building lighting systems; receiving support for study costs for poor students... Enriching himself, creating livelihoods for those around him and always concerned about doing useful things for the community, Mr. Le Hoi Hung deserves to be an excellent Vietnamese farmer, a typical example of good production and business at all levels...

Mr. Hung always gives priority to recruiting local children with difficulties to work at his production and business establishments. Photo: Thanh Phuc