When CEA had first met Do Manh Vu two years ago at his office in Constrexim Holdings Company, he had spoken of the restructuring that was then taking place to make the company, formerly a state-enterprise concern under the Ministry of Construction, into a joint stock company, a process that would make it essentially a private-sector concern.
This is a route being followed by an increasing number of state-owned organisations in Vietnam, freeing them up from centralised control to enable them to attract investment and participate with greater flexibility in the nation’s burgeoning economy. It is however a complex and lengthy process, and at that time Mr Vu was reluctant to divulge too many of the company’s plans. Meeting him now in the boardroom of Constrexim No 1’s headquarter, after the passage of two years, does however reveal a great difference.
Mr Do Manh Vu
Chairman of Constrexim No.1 (Confitech) Joint Stock Company
As a subsidiary of Constrexim Holdings, Mr Vu now happily talk about Constrexim No 1 (an abbreviation for Construction & Export-Import Company No 1) which is a leading company of Constrexim Holdings - now 90% privately owned. Further, as from June last year, it has been rebranded as Confitech, a name that has a far more modern resonance. Mr Vu, an engineer by profession, is President of Confitech and Constrexim Holdings.
The company, with a healthy order book at home and a great deal of experience is also looking at selected overseas markets. Mr Vu is now happy to talk. “It took a long time and the past two years were especially busy,” he says, “Changing from government control to a market economy has to be done step by step – not all at once. We have had to alter our momentum and undergo internal rearrangement.” Mr Vu says that Confitech is both a development company and a contractor, and that given the real estate market potential in Vietnam, there will be a distinct emphasis on development in the future. “We are playing an important role as an investor, and are currently carrying out many projects such as industrial zones, export processing zones, urban residential areas, office buildings and apartments,” he says. Vietnamese government policy in providing low-cost housing is another sector in which Confitech has potential, says Mr Vu, and during the past year or so the company has focused on developing this kind of accommodation, exploring the possibility of projects in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. With Confitech’s long track record as a leading construction contractor within its own country, Mr Vu is confident that with extra foreign investment and with Vietnam’s growing prosperity, there is a lot more local business potential ahead. “We are not big enough to take on very large projects,” he says. “Our expertise is in the medium size and smaller projects, and we see a great future for us there.
We also have experience in infrastructure, and we will be expanding further into civil works such as roads and road bridges, irrigation and water supply schemes, and environmental treatment works.” He is also confident that Confitech has potential overseas, the company having recently finished a project in Eastern Europe. “We are focusing on Africa as an overseas market,” he says. “With overseas investment we are looking at markets such as Kenya, the Congo and parts of central Africa. Our main competition would be from the Chinese, but we are confident that we can compete effectively.”
Confitech is also looking at the possibility of building two hospital projects in Cambodia, and is hoping to move into Laos. A further possibility is Micronesia, where a military base is being built and the company is in negotiations to construct the military housing that will be needed. As a company that is partly rooted in the import and export of building materials and equipment, Confitech plans to continue its policy of purchasing Chinese-made construction equipment. “We are sourcing our equipment from China because of our depreciation policy,” says Mr Vu. “We don’t want to purchase expensive equipment and then wait seven years for depreciation. It is too long for us. So it is better we buy equipment that will depreciate wholly over two or three years. That means Chinese equipment.” Số lượt đọc:
37
-
Cập nhật lần cuối:
20/02/2012 11:29:04 AM |