The first burger restaurant in Vietnam is to be opened in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly called Saigon) in early 2014. In its official press release, the company said that it had given franchise to Henry Nguyen, a Vietnamese businessman.
According to Agence France-Presse, Henry Nguyen is the son-in-law of the nation’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Henry worked as a part-time crew member for McDonald's as a young student when his family moved to the United States in 1975.
About ten years ago, Henry Nguyen came back to Vietnam and then started working for the investment company IDG Ventures Vietnam. According to BBC News, he is also the founder of Good Day Hospitality. Henry was quoted as saying that since the moment of his return, he had been dreaming of opening a McDonald's restaurant in his home country.
McDonald's Corp. is not present in the Vietnamese market yet, although its nearest competitors including Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut and Starbucks have already set up their businesses there.
McDonald's has opened its restaurants in more than a hundred countries worldwide, including 38 Asian countries.