HCMC – Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) posted a 5.1% rise in first-half pre-tax profit to nearly VND21.9 trillion, supported by higher foreign exchange gains and a sharp drop in credit risk provisions.
In its Q2 financial report, the state-run lender reported net interest income of VND14.16 trillion, up 2% year-on-year. However, net income from services dropped 43% to VND861 billion. In contrast, foreign exchange trading saw a 41% surge to VND1.64 trillion, while other operating income jumped to VND1.15 trillion from just VND24 billion a year earlier.
Second-quarter pre-tax profit reached VND11.03 trillion, up by 9.2% year-on-year.
For the first six months, the bank’s total operating income exceeded VND35.1 trillion, rising 3.2% year-on-year. Net profit from business operations stood at VND23.46 trillion, down 2%. Despite this, the bank’s pre-tax profit rose due to a 48% reduction in credit risk provisions, which totaled VND1.56 trillion.
As of June 30, Vietcombank’s total assets reached over VND2,200 trillion, up 6% from the start of the year. Customer loans and deposits amounted to VND1,560 trillion and VND1,590 trillion, up by 7% and 8%, respectively.
Non-performing loans rose by 12% from the beginning of the year to VND15.6 trillion, with the NPL ratio inching up from 0.96% to 1%.
Closing the trading session today, July 31, the lender’s VCB shares extended their losing streak to the third consecutive session, edging down 1.15% to VND60,200, with over six million shares changing hands.
The benchmark VN-Index declined 5.11 points, or 0.34%, to close at 1,502.52 points, despite a modest rise in overall trading activity. Total market volume reached nearly 1.7 billion shares valued at VND43.4 trillion, slightly higher than in the previous session. Block deals accounted for 45.6 million shares worth VND1.56 trillion.
Large-cap stocks posted a mixed performance, with notable declines in FPT, MWG, VNM, and VIC, which dropped between 2% and 3.7%.
Conversely, lender SHB stole the limelight as it surged to its ceiling price of VND17,200 and took the lead in volume with over 181.3 million shares traded. Other gainers such as GVR, VJC, VPB, and BCM increased from 2% to nearly 4%.
Investor interest also extended to mid- and small-cap stocks across various sectors, especially real estate and construction. Many stocks in these sectors closed at their ceiling prices or rose over 4%.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index added 4.83 points, or 1.85%, to 226.34 points, with trading volume exceeding 198.5 million shares valued at VND4.22 trillion.
