Morning Brief

VN30

- VN30 reverted from its early losses to test the MA10 support at 1,150 and closed with a tiny gain. We expect the index to re-test its resistance at 1,168. If crossing through this threshold, VN30 will extend gains toward 1,190-1,195.

STB

- STB rose with strong volume last Friday and closed above its MA100 resistance, which generated a bullish signal. Buy STB with a short-term TP at 31,700 (its October 2023’s peak) and SL at 29,400.

TPB

- TPB saw strong buying activities recently since it crossed through the MA200 in Jan 4, reflected by a surge in turnover. Buy TPB with a short-term TP at 19,700 and SL at 18,000.

MBB

- Prelim 2023 PBT in line with our expectation. Consolidated results: PBT +15% YoY, NPL ratio of 1.6%, 25% ROE.

- Parent bank: 29% credit growth (vs. our forecast of 19%), 29% funding growth, CASA ratio of 34%, customer base +31.5% to 26.3 million.

[Rating: BUY as of 16/11/23]

LPB

- Prelim 2023 results beat our expectations: PBT +24% YoY & completed 141% of our forecast;

-1 6.8% credit growth (vs. our forecast of 14%); NPL ratio of 1.26% (vs. Q3 2023’s 2.79% and our forecast of 2.5%)

- potentially higher-than-expected upfront banca fees booked in Q4 2023 (pending a fuller review).

[Rating: UNDERPERFORM as of 03/01/2024]

VCB

- On 12 Jan, VCB reduced deposit rates by 20 bps for terms of 9 months or shorter and by 10 bps for 12-24 months terms.

- 6 and 12-month deposit rates are now 3% and 4.7%, respectively. VN banks are having ample liquidity and hence have been cutting rates to stimulate credit demand.

Other news:

- Following a meeting in Hanoi, the Prime Minister and Indonesia’s President reached an agreement to boost cooperation between the 2 countries in AI, digital economy, renewable energy and EV, per local media. Indonesia’s President welcomed investments from (i) VinFast (previously announced plans to invest USD1.2bn to expand its operations in Indonesia); (ii) FPT (invest in relevant technologies); (iii) VJC (expand flights to Indonesia); and (iv) Sovico Group (invest in tourism and real estate projects).

- This morning (January 15), General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other leaders of the Party, State and National Assembly attended the opening ceremony of the 5th Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly. The Amended Land Law, Amended Law on Credit Institutions, and other resolutions will be proposed for approval in this meeting.

- Vietnam’s total remittance jumped 25%-30% YoY in 2023, according to the State Bank of Vietnam. HCMC remained the biggest destination of remittance, reaching an all-time high of USD9bn (+35% YoY).

- HK-based Crystal International plans to invest USD200mn in Vietnam’s northern province of Nam Dinh to manufacture cloth, fiber and garments, per local media. This project could eventually employ 4,000 people. The apparel giant is a partner of several major global brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi’s, H&M and Uniqlo.

Market overview