Bao Viet Holdings (HOSE: BVH) | Initiation Report, BUY – FW2026 Upside +21.7%

Company Information

Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) is one of Vietnam’s leading financial–insurance conglomerates, established in 1965 and recognized as the longest-standing insurer in the country. With more than 60 years of development, BVH has built a diversified financial group with around 200 branches and subsidiaries, along with nearly 1,000 insurance service offices nationwide. BVH’s life insurance ranked 1st in term of market shares in Vietnam for many years while non-life insurance also consistently ranks among the top 2 players in terms of market share.

For the 2026–2030 period, BVH aims to accelerate digital transformation, enhance service quality, and improve operational efficiency across its subsidiaries to strengthen its position as a key pillar of Vietnam’s insurance and financial sector. The government is also expected to gradually reduce its ownership in the group from approximately 65% to 51%.

Financial Performance

Despite market volatility and industry-wide bancassurance challenges during 2023–2024, BVH achieved a 2020–2025 NPAT CAGR of 12.1%, underpinned by a significant recovery in 2025. Gross written premiums (GWP) rebounded by 3.1% YoY to VND 44,116bn, driven by disciplined underwriting and optimized claim expenses. Gross profit from insurance operations reached a record VND 1,238bn, the highest level since 2012, recovering sharply from a VND 968bn loss in 2024. Financial activities remained a stable profit anchor, contributing VND 11,120bn in profit in 2025, representing a 5.2% YoY increase and a 7.8% CAGR for the 2020–2025 period.

Operating expenses were also tightly controlled through digital transformation initiatives, network optimization, and improved sales cost efficiency. The SG&A-to-operating income ratio declined to 72.2%, from an average of 75% over the previous three years. Consequently, NPAT-MI in 2025 reached VND 2,837bn, increasing 34.4% YoY and exceeding the company’s full-year profit target by 23%, equivalent to a CAGR of 12.2% over the 2020–2025 period.

As of the end of 2025, BVH’s consolidated total assets reached nearly VND 292tn (+16.2% YoY), mainly driven by the expansion of its financial investment portfolio and insurance reserves. The investment portfolio continues to maintain a conservative allocation structure, with government bonds and bank deposits accounting for 83.2%.

Investment Rationales

BVH is the leading insurance company in Vietnam. We believe both in the sector’s growth and the company fundamentals over the medium to long-term.

Our investment thesis for BVH includes:

1. Sector leader with a well-established ecosystem

2. Profit margin improvement driven by underwriting efficiency and cost control

3. Stable investment income supported by a conservative asset base and rising interest rate environment

4. Attractive valuation with a solid earnings growth ahead

Valuation and Recommendations

We applied a combination of DCF, P/E, and P/B methods to determine BVH’s fair value. Our 12M target price is VND 87,000/share, representing a 21.7% upside from the latest closing price of VND 71,500/share on April 21, 2026. Accordingly, we recommend BUY for BVH given the current price offer.