Morning Briefing, April 16: Vietnam and China Agree on Major Directions to Elevate Bilateral Relations to a New Level

Macroeconomic News

• Wall Street Journal: The U.S. and Iran have agreed to continue peace talks, but the two sides have not yet set a time or location for the next round of negotiations
• FTSE Russell Director: Vietnam is setting a new, higher standard for markets aiming for an upgrade
• Vietnam and China agree on major directions to elevate bilateral relations to a new level
• General Secretary and President To Lam met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, proposing that both sides establish a new level of cooperation in economy, trade, investment, and tourism.
• Vietnam: The Prime Minister signed Decision No. 16/2026/QĐ-TTg stipulating the principles, criteria, and allocation standards for the central government budget and the matching local budget ratio for the three National Target Programs for the 2026–2030 period (New Rural Development, Sustainable Poverty Reduction, and Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Regions)
• Vietnam: The Ministry of Industry and Trade is drafting the Petroleum Law (Amendment)
• Vietnam: The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Decree amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 10/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 15, 2022, of the Government regarding registration fees. Among other things, it proposes exempting registration fees for electric vehicles until the end of 2030
• Vietnam: The General Department of Taxation has issued an urgent directive requiring the entire tax sector to immediately implement Resolution No. 19/2026/QH16, applying a 0% tax rate to various tax categories for petroleum products.

Market News

• VN-Index: rose 25 points to close at 1,800.65 points, driven by the Vin Group’s stocks, while the market overall saw subdued trading. Market breadth leaned negative, with 14 out of 18 sectors declining. Today’s one-sided upward trend is unlikely to persist; investors should trade cautiously in the coming sessions.
• U.S. Stocks: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite surged to new record highs on April 15, as investors shrugged off the highest inflation in nearly two years and concerns regarding the economic impact of the Iran conflict.
• OCB: Aiming to be among the Top 5 banks in efficiency and sustainable development by 2030
• VPX: VPBankS becomes a major shareholder of KBC
• TCX: TCBS’s first-quarter 2026 pre-tax profit reached 1.458 trillion VND, raising 488 million USD in international capital
• VCG: Pacific Holdings—Vinaconex’s largest shareholder—nominated two new candidates to the Board of Directors amid the company’s top-level restructuring following the indictment of a number of senior executives.
• HUT: Sets a record-high revenue target of VND 55,000 billion and plans to raise capital for a major project
• MHC replaces CEO ahead of the 2026 Annual General Meeting
• NVL: Sets a profit target of 1,852 billion VND for 2026, continues to address bond and project legal issues

View other reports & investment recommendations here.

Source: BIDV Securities (BSC)