Over the past three months, the stock market has treated investors to an unprecedented feast, with the benchmark VN-Index surging more than 500 points from its 1,094 low during the tariff shock to repeatedly break record highs above the 1,600 mark.

A host of property, brokerage, and banking stocks have set new records, yet insurers appear to be sitting out the party. Data show many insurance tickers were flat, fell, or posted only modest gains during this period.

Specifically, those of Petrolimex Insurance Corporation (HoSE: PGI) fell from about VND25,160 a share at the end of April to VND20,450 ($0.78).

Bao Minh Insurance Corporation (HoSE: BMI) was largely flat, trading in the VND20,000-21,000 range ($0.76-0.8), with similar moves seen in ABI of Agriculture Bank Insurance Joint Stock Corporation, AIC of DBV Insurance Corporation, and BHI of Sai Gon-Ha Noi Insurance Corporation, all on the Unlisted Public Companies Market (UPCoM).

The bright spots came from a few industry leaders, though their gains were modest compared with the 46% jump of VN-Index, which represents the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), and only materialized in the past one to two months.

Bao Viet Holdings (HoSE: BVH) rose from about VND44,000 to VND53,500 ($2.04), up 21.5%. Military Insurance Corporation (HoSE: MIG) climbed from VND16,000 to VND19,150 ($0.73), up 19%. PVI Holdings (HNX: PVI) advanced 17% from VND54,200 to VND63,400 ($2.41).

Notably, BIDV Insurance Corporation’s BIC on the HoSE has recently surged from around VND34,000 to VND48,950 ($1.86) following news of a hefty payout.

The insurer, a subsidiary of state-controlled BIDV - a “Big 4” lender in Vietnam, will distribute a 15% cash dividend and a 72.3% stock bonus. The ex-dividend date is set for September 9. While BIC has regularly paid high cash dividends in the past, this is its first capital-boosting stock bonus in 12 years, since 2014.

Earnings growth

Despite being largely overlooked by investors, insurers were among the best-performing sectors in Q2, driven by a rebound in insurance operations after the 2023 slump and stronger investment income.

Bao Viet reported a gross profit of VND592 billion ($22.54 million) from insurance operations in the quarter, improving from a loss of VND402 billion ($15.3 million) a year earlier. Financial income also rose to VND2.7 trillion from VND2.55 trillion ($97.06 million).

As a result, despite sharp increases in selling and administrative expenses, Bao Viet posted after-tax profit of VND705 billion ($26.84 million), up 60.6%. For H1, profit rose 31.5% to VND1.39 trillion ($52.91 million).

MIG posted a 23% increase in gross profit from insurance operations to VND152 billion ($5.79 million) in Q2, while financial income rose 21% to VND93 billion ($3.54 million). That lifted after-tax profit by 49% to VND84 billion ($3.2 million).

PVI reported a 52% year-on-year jump in Q2 after-tax profit, fueled by gains in its insurance business. Bao Minh saw after-tax profit rise nearly 15% to VND81 billion ($3.08 million) as financial income surged 39% to VND41.2 billion ($1.57 million).

Petrolimex Insurance Corporation, despite the arrest of a senior executive, maintained stable business results. Net insurance revenue rose 4.1% to VND937 billion ($35.67 million) in Q2, while profit was flat at VND87 billion ($3.31 million). For H1, revenue and profit increased 1-2% to VND1.83 trillion and VND159 billion ($6.05 million), respectively.

Vietnam’s insurance industry faced a severe crisis of confidence in 2023, with the impact lingering into 2024 as total market premium revenue was estimated to have slipped 0.25% to VND227.5 trillion ($8.66 billion).

The recovery became more visible in 2025. Data from the Insurance Association of Vietnam showed that in the first five months of this year, total market premium revenue reached VND92.47 trillion ($3.52 billion), up 4.4%, with life insurance premiums rising 1.5% to VND57.28 trillion ($2.18 billion).

Boosting short-term financial investments

Taking advantage of cheap capital and buoyant investment channels, several insurers expanded their investment scale, particularly in equities, to optimize returns.

At the end of Q2, PVI’s short-term financial investment portfolio rose to VND13.81 trillion from VND9.64 trillion ($366.96 million). Trading securities (stocks and bonds) climbed to VND1.64 trillion from VND283 billion ($10.77 million), while held-to-maturity investments grew to VND12.17 trillion from VND9.4 trillion ($357.82 million).

Notably, despite the sharp expansion in trading securities, PVI made no provisions this year, compared with VND37 billion ($1.41 million) set aside a year earlier.

Bao Minh more than doubled the value of its trading securities to VND284 billion ($10.81 million), while its held-to-maturity investments remained at VND3.46 trillion ($131.71 million).

The insurer’s securities portfolio is spread across large- and small-cap companies in various industries, including Techcombank (HoSE: TCB), dairy firm Vinamilk (HoSE: VNM), Duyen Hai Multi Modal Transport JSC (HoSE: TCO), and Petrolimex Gas Corporation - JSC (HoSE: PGC).

In H1, Bao Minh booked an additional net provision of VND17.4 billion ($662,353), raising total provisions to VND58.2 billion ($2.22 million), equivalent to 20% of the original investment cost.

Bao Viet lifted the value of its short-term financial investments from VND103.9 trillion to VND116.62 trillion ($4.44 billion). The group allocated VND113.16 trillion ($4.31 billion) to held-to-maturity investments (bank deposits), an increase of more than VND13 trillion ($494.86 million) from the start of the year.

Trading securities remained at VND3.64 trillion ($138.56 million) with provisions of VND181.6 billion ($6.91 million). Bao Viet’s stock picks included ACB bank (HoSE: ACB), VietinBank (HoSE: CTG), and VNM.

The insurer also held VND121.16 trillion ($4.61 billion) in long-term investments, slightly lower than at the beginning of the year, comprising VND18.51 trillion ($704.61 million) in deposits and VND102.65 trillion ($3.91 billion) in bonds.

Analysts said that as Vietnam’s stock market enters a major upgrade wave and deposit rates remain low, insurers’ increased allocation to equities could help optimize returns.

Still, equities are a high-risk asset class, requiring careful selection and disciplined strategies, with April’s surprise U.S. reciprocal tariff move serving as a stark reminder.

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would impose a general tariff rate of 10% on its trade partners, alongside country-specific rates of up to 50% on dozens of nations.

A week later, he decided to delay the reciprocal tariff rollout for 90 days, with plans to resume on July 9. Just days ahead of that deadline, Trump signed an executive order on July 7, pushing the deadline further to August 1.

On July 31, the President signed an executive order imposing new reciprocal tariffs on imports from 69 countries and territories, with rates ranging from 10% to 41%. Vietnam was hit with a 20% levy.

Broker SSI expects the VN-Index to reach the 1,750-1,800 range in 2026. The driving force will come from the steady recovery of profit growth given the recovery momentum of the real estate market and public investment, the favorable interest rate environment, and concerns about tariff risks gradually easing.