Stocks of Vietnam's smaller banks rally on capital plans, major bourse listings

Shares of several smaller Vietnamese banks have outperformed the broader banking sector in June, driven by plans to raise capital, issue bonus shares and transfer their listings to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).

After a prolonged period of subdued trading, investors have returned to the sector as lenders unveiled corporate actions aimed at strengthening capital and improving market visibility.

Kien Long Commercial Joint Stock Bank's shares (KLB) have risen from around VND14,000 to VND16,750 ($0.64) since the beginning of June, extending their rebound to about 34% from a March low.

BVBank (BVB) has gained about 12% over the past two weeks, from VND12,300 to VND13,800 ($0.52). Compared to the March low, the market price has recovered by approximately 23.2%.

National Citizen Bank (NVB) has climbed roughly 36% since late May, from VND10,600 per share to VND14,400 after trading largely flat in April.

SeABank (SSB) has also advanced, rising from about VND13,600 to VND16,100 over the past month.

The rally has largely been supported by company-specific developments rather than broader sector fundamentals.

Kien Long Bank said July 6 will be the record date for shareholders to receive bonus shares at a ratio of 29.5 shares for every 100 shares held. The bank plans to issue more than 170.6 million shares, increasing its charter capital to more than VND7.5 trillion ($285 million).

The lender has also benefited from expectations surrounding its planned transfer of listing to the HoSE after reporting record 2025 profit of over VND2.32 trillion ($88.32 million) and Q1/2026 net profit of VND522 billion ($19.85 million), up 47% from a year earlier.

BVBank's shares have been supported by its upcoming move from the UPCoM market to HoSE. The bank received listing approval from HoSE on June 22 and plans to delist from UPCoM on July 9 before commencing trading on HoSE on July 21.

The transfer had been approved by shareholders at several previous annual meetings but is only now being implemented.

National Citizen Bank is pursuing a larger capital increase through a private placement of 1 billion shares to 22 professional investors, including 20 individuals and two institutional investors, at VND10,000 ($0.38) per share.

If completed, the offering would raise the bank's charter capital from VND19.28 trillion to more than VND29.28 trillion ($1.11 billion), allowing it to meet its capital targets three years ahead of the schedule set out in its restructuring plan.

The bank said the additional VND10 trillion will be used primarily to expand lending to businesses and consumers during 2026-2027 while strengthening its financial capacity and competitiveness.

Meanwhile, SeABank has completed a capital increase from VND28.45 trillion to nearly VND34.29 trillion ($1.3 billion) through a 20.52% stock dividend.

The lender also plans to issue up to 40 million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) shares at a price of no less than VND10,000 ($0.38) each for eligible managers and employees.

Following the capital increase, SeABank said it will continue focusing on retail banking, digital transformation and product development.

The recent gains suggest investors are increasingly targeting smaller bank stocks with identifiable corporate catalysts, such as capital raising, bonus share distributions and exchange transfers.

While the longer-term outlook will depend on earnings performance and execution of these plans, such developments have helped improve sentiment toward a segment that has recently received relatively little investor attention.