MORNING NEWS, AUGUST 28: Central Banks of South Korea and the Philippines Raise Interest Rates

Detailed Report

Macroeconomic News

• South Korea: The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised interest rates for the second consecutive time to curb inflation, after core inflation last month reached its highest level since December 2023. The BOK raised the interest rate by another 25 basis points to 3%, the highest level since January 2025, in line with market expectations.
• Philippines: The Central Bank (BSP) raised its target reverse repo rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5%, in line with the forecasts of most economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The decision to continue raising interest rates aims to curb inflation, even though the country’s economic growth is lagging behind many other nations in the region.
• Japan: Core consumer prices in central Tokyo rose 1.8% year-over-year in August 2026, following a downward revision of the 1.7% increase recorded in July and exceeding expectations of 1.7%. This marks the third consecutive month of accelerating growth and the fastest pace since March, signaling mounting price pressures due to the conflict in the Middle East. However, inflation remains below the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) 2% target.
• The State Securities Commission and Nasdaq are strengthening their cooperation, opening the door for Vietnamese companies to access U.S. capital.
• Vietnam: The government issued Resolution No. 255/NQ-CP on August 27, 2026, regarding the construction of urgent infrastructure for the project to extend the Ben Thanh–Suoi Tien Metro line to the Dong Nai City Administrative Center and Long Thanh International Airport.
• Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City proposes a maximum monthly salary of VND 850 million for the director of the International Financial Center.
• Vietnam: Samsung identifies Vietnam as a strategic partner in R&D and high technology.

Market News

• VN-Index: Formed a green candlestick closing above the upper Bollinger Band (1,825.77 points), indicating that short-term upward momentum continues. However, trading volume has fallen below the 20-session average, reflecting cautious sentiment and a “rally on doubt” scenario, as buying momentum chasing higher prices has not yet been truly aggressive. The index may experience some volatility and retest the 1,820 – 1,825 point range before moving upward to challenge the 1,850 – 1,860 point range.
• United States: The Nasdaq Composite rose on August 27 as the latest earnings reports from Nvidia and a number of other major tech companies boosted investor sentiment.
• MCH: Masan Consumer’s CEO spent nearly VND 400 billion to acquire MCH shares, increasing the CEO’s ownership stake in the company from 0,315% to 0,522% of the charter capital.
• TCB: Reuters reported that BNP Paribas has no plans to acquire a stake in Techcombank.
• MWG: Mr. Doan Van Hieu Em, an executive member of MWG’s Board of Directors, has registered to sell 1 million shares to reallocate capital toward an investment in Dien May Xanh.
• CTG: The bank announced the auction of its entire holding of 6.94 million shares in Hai Phong Port Joint Stock Company (UPCoM: PHP), representing 2.12% of the company’s charter capital. At the same time, the bank is also proceeding with the sale on the stock exchange of all its shares held in Saigon Port Joint Stock Company (UPCoM: SGP).
• VGI: announced details regarding the 2025 cash dividend payment at a rate of 33%, meaning shareholders will receive VND 3,300 for each share held.

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Source: BIDV Securities (BSC)