Long Thanh Golf Investment & Trading JSC and its subsidiary system is a company founded by Mr. Le Van Kiem in 1978. Over more than 44 years of development, Long Thanh Golf has become a multi-industry production and business enterprise organized under a Group model. Long Thanh Golf is known as one of the pioneering private enterprises investing in key sectors such as real estate, infrastructure construction, tourism and resort, renewable energy… with prestigious brands both domestically and internationally.

Nearly half a century of “pioneering” by veteran entrepreneur Le Van Kiem

Entrepreneur Le Van Kiem — Chairman of the Board, the man who laid the “first brick” founding Long Thanh Golf Investment & Trading JSC — comes from a family with a revolutionary tradition. Mr. Le Van Kiem is the son of a martyr, and he himself was a soldier who fought on the fierce Southern battlefield. After the country’s liberation, driven by a desire to contribute more to national development, he decided to change course, moving from Deputy Head of the Southern Road-Bridge Construction Board to private business. As one of the pioneering entrepreneurs of the economic opening period of the 1980s, he boldly ventured into many fields: livestock feed production, pigment products, oil pressed from rubber seeds serving the paint industry, and later garment export — becoming one of Vietnam’s largest garment producers during 1987-1990. His dynamism and daring spirit created jobs for more than 2,000 staff and workers of the Company and more than 20,000 workers of satellite enterprises nationwide.

In the early 1990s, recognizing the potential of infrastructure and real estate, entrepreneur Le Van Kiem pioneered landmark infrastructure works such as the foundation of the 500kV North-South power line pylons, and the Hang Xanh intersection — the first pilot BT project that achieved outstanding quality, operating for 25 years without needing repair. He was also among the first to invest in building a resort hotel at the untouched coastal area of Long Hai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau since 1993, which is now a compelling destination for both domestic and international visitors.

In 2001, Mr. Le Van Kiem continued to expand into a new area — golf business — with the launch of the Long Thanh Golf brand, the first golf course invested, designed, built and operated by Vietnamese people to international standards.

To strengthen the friendship between Vietnam and Laos, he boldly invested in the Long Thanh – Vientiane Special Economic Zone project of nearly 600 hectares — the only special economic zone in Laos owned by a Vietnamese investor.

The most outstanding among the real estate projects is the KN Paradise integrated resort and entertainment complex in Khanh Hoa province, spanning nearly 800 hectares with a total investment of over USD 2 billion, voted by PropertyGuru Vietnam as “Vietnam’s Best Sustainable Mega Complex”. The complex offers a full range of amenities and services, from entertainment, shopping, high-end tourism to healthcare, education and international-standard community centers. Phase 1 of the project began operating in 2018 and quickly became a new international destination for both domestic and international visitors, at the same time affirming Khanh Hoa’s sustainable tourism brand. This was also the period when Mr. Le Van Kiem built the Company into a multi-industry, multi-sector Group, with total project investment at that time exceeding USD 5 billion.

2018 was also the year Mr. Le Van Kiem continued to pioneer investment in large-scale renewable energy in Vietnam. Specifically, three 200MW-scale solar power projects were completed and put into operation. A large-scale floating solar project is currently being deployed, expected to be completed in the 2021-2025 period, contributing to Vietnam’s role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and placing the country on the world’s clean-energy map.

Building a reputable enterprise with social responsibility

From the earliest days of business, entrepreneur Le Van Kiem identified core values revolving around three factors: Reputation – Pioneering – Responsibility. Alongside a business philosophy that keeps “Reputation” — ensuring commitments to customers and partners; always “Pioneering” investment in new fields; and being “Responsible” by dedicating most of business profits to caring for the material and spiritual life of staff, and especially for community and charity activities.

Throughout their development journey, Mr. Le Van Kiem’s family and the Group have always accompanied philanthropic activities, sharing with disadvantaged lives and paying tribute to comrades and people who have contributed to the country. The total amount the business and family have dedicated to charity, social programs and gratitude activities has so far exceeded 2,000 billion VND. In Covid-19 pandemic prevention alone, Long Thanh Golf contributed more than 600 billion VND, including 500 billion VND to the Government’s Covid-19 Vaccine Fund.

The business as well as the founder’s family members have been recognized many times by the Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian Party and States and awarded noble orders. At the end of 2020, Mr. and Mrs. Le Van Kiem and Tran Cam Nhung were honored by the President with the Hero of Labor title in the renewal period; Mr. Le Van Kiem (also Chairman of the Vietnam Veteran Entrepreneurs Association, Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Vietnam Veterans Association, Vice President of the Vietnam Olympic Committee) was honored with the Hero of Labor title in the renewal period for the second time.

Previously, in 2019, Forbes magazine selected and published the list of 30 Asia-Pacific Heroes of Philanthropy, which included two Vietnamese entrepreneurs — Mr. Le Van Kiem and Mrs. Tran Cam Nhung. They are the only Vietnamese on the list, and both ranked 7th in the top 10 most generous philanthropists.

Ready to welcome new investment waves in the 4.0 era

Sharing about the Group’s long-term development strategy, Labor Hero — entrepreneur Le Van Kiem said, leveraging its strengths in infrastructure and real estate development along with the solid financial resources accumulated over nearly 45 years, the Group is proposing to build new-generation Industrial Parks in Vietnam at large scale, systematically planned to international standards to capture the wave of investment shifting into Vietnam after Covid-19. At the same time, the Group aims to apply technology and renewable energy in the construction, management and operation of urban areas, forming “Smart Cities” with the goal of raising living standards, optimizing energy use and protecting the environment.

“The mission Long Thanh Golf pursues is to bring value to the community and leave a mark through internationally scaled works. Personally, I am committed to dedicating most of the profits from the Group’s business activities to further supporting philanthropic activities, gratitude activities, and contributing to the construction and defense of the Fatherland, as well as responding to the socialization programs launched by the Party and State,” entrepreneur Le Van Kiem emphasized.

Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper