1. Financial market News

VN-Index closes fluctuating week with slight gain

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index gained 0.26 percent to close at 1,168.47 points Friday, ending a week of fluctuations in its recovery from last month’s plunge. The index was mostly in the red throughout the session with several dips to the 1,150 range before climbing up in the last hour of trading and closing with a 3.04-point gain. Trading volume on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose 11 percent to VND14.87 trillion ($640.95 million). The bourse saw 216 stocks gain and 209 lose. The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks on the HoSE, saw 14 stocks gain, led by HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group with a 3.3 percent increase. Foreign investors were net sellers throughout the week. They net sold VND473 billion Friday, with strongest pressures on VNM of dairy giant Vinamilk, HPG of steelmaker Hoa Phat Group and VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail.

Detailed information here.

2. Banking news

Nine Vietnamese banks increase global brand finance ranking

There are nine Vietnamese banks on the Brand Finance Banking 500 list, including Agribank, Vietcombank, VietinBank, VPBank, BIDV, Techcombank, Military Bank (MB), Sacombank, and ACB.

The global banking industry has witnessed a significant downturn in the past two years due to the pandemic. The total brand value in the annual Brand Finance Banking 500 ranking increased by 10 per cent in 2018 (from $1.07 trillion to $1.18 trillion) and again by 15 per cent in 2019 ($1.36 trillion) but decreased by 2 per cent and 5 per cent in 2020 ($1.33 trillion) and 2021 ($1.27 trillion), respectively.

Detailed information here.