Two Vietnamese named 2007 young global leaders

The first, Nguyen Thanh Hung, is the founder and Chairman of the Sovico Group, o­ne of the largest investors in Vietnam. Founded in 1992, Sovico has now become a dynamic international trading investment group with establishments in 10 countries around the world.

Hung is viewed as a model for business executives in an emerging economy such as Viet Nam. In addition to his success in business, Hung has set up a charity fund of 1 million USD to assist poor children.

The second winner, Pham Thi Hue, has quite a different story. She is the founder of Hai Phong Red Flamboyant in Viet Nam, a support group for people living with HIV/ AIDS, which was founded in 2005.

As a person infected with HIV, Hue has refused to be shamed into silence. Instead, she went public, appearing o­n television and at conferences to talk about the fatal disease. She has been chosen as o­ne of the 20 Asia’s Heroes by the Time magazine.

The honour is bestowed each year by the World Economic Forum to recognise and acknowledge the top 250 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, their commitment to the development of society and their potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Drawn from a pool of 4,000 candidates from all over the world, half of the 250 selected leaders of 70 countries come from business backgrounds.