Le Viet Lam – contribution from a Vietnamese overseas legend
Among the guests who joined their hands in the charitable music show “Thousand year memory of Thang Long” on September 10, 2010, was Mr. Le Viet Lam, President of Sun Group (formerly known as Technocom Group – the biggest group of overseas Vietnamese headquartered in Kharkov, Ukraine). The rather quiet man made himself stand out when his bid on the “Thang Long’s Dragon” statue was made. The final price was US$109,998 after a long race with strong bidders. The payment, which was said by Lam to be a more than worthy price for a unique product of top quality craftsmanship and a symbol of a great nation, was donated to the Life Is Beautiful Campaign.
As the auction winner, Lam happily shared that the Dragon statue will find a comfortable spot at his Sun Group office and hoped “my donation as well as others today shall make their way to our disabled fellow Vietnamese and help them feel relieved and be confident in a brighter future”. His honest and moving speech was vastly applauded by the LIB campaign ambassadors, Kasim Hoang Vu and Miss Vietnam Nguyen Thi Huyen, together with the show’s honorable guests.
Le Viet Lam was one among the young generation of Vietnamese who came to the Ukraine 23 years ago with big dreams of success and wealth. After finishing his PhD in Moscow, Lam and his friends started their own small business in Kharkov. After nearly 20 years of political and economic trials, their business has grown from an instant noodle factory into a multi-sector group with more than 4,000 employees and earns revenue of more than 10 million USD per month. Its main brand, Mivina, holds first place in the fast food industry in Ukraine. Lam is also the Chairman of the Vietnamese Business Association in Ukraine.
It is said that “Every man is bound to his homeland invisibly”. At his current position, Lam is not only able to provide his support to Vietnamese expatriates doing business in Ukraine, expand his investment in the Vietnamese economy through huge infrastructure projects, but also contribute to help the disadvantaged people in the country. He, himself, through the Sun Group and many other businessmen and individuals in the Ukraine, who have been inspired by his philanthropy, have donated billions of Vietnamese dong to their homeland to help flood and typhoon victims, Agent Orange survivors and build new schools and health clinics,...