March 20 Morning Briefing: Resolution No. 02 – NQ/TW on "Building and Developing Hanoi Capital in the New Era" Issued

Macroeconomic News:

• United States: Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 14 reached 205,000, down 8,000 from the previous week and better than the market expectation of 215,000.
• United States: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that investigations into tariffs will conclude within the 150-day deadline under the current tariff regime and will be completed on time to replace the tariff rates in July.
• BoJ: The Bank of Japan decided to keep the policy rate at 0.75%, maintaining a cautious stance amid the unpredictable situation caused by the escalating crisis in the Middle East. This marks the second consecutive meeting where the BoJ has left rates unchanged.
• ECB: Announced it would keep the key interest rate unchanged following the March policy meeting, with the rate for main refinancing operations at 2.15% and the deposit facility rate at 2%.
• BoE: Kept interest rates unchanged at 3.75% at the March meeting. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) stated that CPI will rise further in the short term due to a new shock to the economy,
• Vietnam: The Politburo issued Resolution 02 – NQ/TW on "Building and Developing Hanoi Capital in the New Era." The resolution set out specific goals and targets through 2035, 2045, and looking toward the 100th anniversary of Hanoi’s liberation (1954) and the year 2065. Specifically, for the 2026–2030 period, the goal is to achieve average annual GRDP growth of over 11%; by 2030, the GRDP is projected to exceed 113 billion USD, with per capita GRDP reaching at least 12,000 USD.

Market News:

• UK: The UK government announced it will increase tariffs on imported steel and reduce import quotas. The quota for imported steel will be reduced by 60% compared to current regulations starting July 1, and tariffs on steel imports exceeding the quota will rise to 50% from the current 25%.
• Vietnam: The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has begun piloting the allocation of greenhouse gas emission quotas to 110 facilities across three major emitting sectors—steel, cement, and thermal power—based on three criteria. First, they must be part of the mandatory greenhouse gas inventory group. Second, the facilities must have been in commercial operation prior to 2022 to ensure a sufficient three-year data series. Third, the facility is involved in production processes with the highest emission intensity.
• Vietnam: In the first half of March 2026, the total value of goods imports and exports reached approximately $41.23 billion, an increase of over 15.05% year-over-year. Cumulatively from the beginning of the year, the total value reached 197.13 billion USD, up 20.78% year-on-year. Looking specifically at exports, they reached approximately 20.35 billion USD; cumulatively from the beginning of the year through mid-March, they reached nearly 96.8 billion USD, up 17.1% year-on-year.
• The Department of Domestic Market Management and Development (Ministry of Industry and Trade) recently collaborated with the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (MXV) and relevant businesses and banks to organize a meeting to discuss plans for listing and operating silver bar trading.
• According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processors and Exporters (VASEP), in February, Vietnam’s catfish exports reached 119 million USD, a slight decrease of 5% compared to the same period last year. However, thanks to positive results in the first month of the year, the cumulative export value for the first two months still reached 331 million USD, an increase of 28% compared to the same period in 2025.

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Source: BIDV Securities (BSC)

Chung khoan BIDV (BSC)