Businesswoman Phạm Thị Việt Nga is hailed as a woman of the new era, leading Hậu Giang Pharma to become the number one pharmaceutical brand in Việt Nam and reclaiming the domestic market from foreign companies.

Ms. Phạm Thị Việt Nga – Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company – is one of two Vietnamese female entrepreneurs honored by Forbes in its list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Asia. Born into a family with three generations devoted to the revolution, at the age of 14 she joined the resistance, distributing medicine and supporting troops. Perhaps because of this background, anyone who meets her for the first time does not feel any distance, but instead senses warmth, sincerity, and simplicity.

Phạm Thị Việt Nga was born in 1951 in Châu Thành District, Cần Thơ Province. She has been associated with DHG since the 1980s, when she was still the head of the Thốt Nốt pharmacy in Cần Thơ City. Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company has developed through many stages, from the Cần Thơ Medical Supplies Company to the Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Union Enterprise.

From October 2004 to the present, Ms. Nga served as General Director of Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and has made the greatest contribution to building the Hau Giang Pharma brand.

Since July 1, 2012, she has handed over daily management at DHG and assumed the position of Chairwoman of the Board of Directors.

DHG currently has more than 300 products distributed nationwide, with 15 product brands well known to consumers. Annual revenue is nearly VND 3,000 billion, with almost 3,000 employees.

Businesswoman Phạm Thị Việt Nga is known as a woman of the new era, leading Hậu Giang to become Việt Nam’s leading pharmaceutical brand and reclaiming the domestic market from foreign companies.

In 1988, she received the appointment as Director of Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Enterprise, which originated as a unit supplying medicine to soldiers during the resistance and to rural communities. After 10 years of ups and downs, under the leadership of this female general, Hau Giang Pharma achieved remarkable growth—from 25 manufactured products in 1989 to 173 products by 1999. In 2011, Hau Giang Pharma recorded revenue of nearly VND 2,500 billion and after-tax profit of VND 416 billion, representing a 4.5-fold increase in revenue and a 7.5-fold increase in profit after seven years of equitization.

Starting from a point where nearly 80% of urban residents were unaware of domestic pharmaceutical brands, Hau Giang Pharma has now firmly established its position in the market, covering the nationwide general hospital system, meeting 100% of demand for cold medicines and vitamins, and 80% of demand for antibiotics in the Vietnamese market.

Born and raised during wartime and once disadvantaged by limited formal education, through her own efforts she successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in 2003 on enhancing the competitiveness of Việt Nam’s pharmaceutical industry. Ms. Nga was awarded the title of Hero of the Renovation Period by the State, in recognition of her outstanding achievements in business as well as social activities.

Source: Thanh Niên Newspaper