Morning news, August 24th: HAGL shares removed from warning list; Over 11.4 million people in Ho Chi Minh City have health insurance.

Tin tức sáng 24-8: Cổ phiếu HAGL thoát khỏi diện cảnh báo; Hơn 11,4 triệu người ở TP.HCM có BHYT - Ảnh 1. — Illustrative image drawn by AI.

The risk of money laundering and terrorist financing activities exploiting digital assets.

At the recent ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) workshop on supervision and enforcement in the cryptocurrency sector in ASEAN, Mr. Bui Hoang Hai, Vice Chairman of the Securities Commission, stated that over the past decade, the digital asset market has developed remarkably and become an increasingly influential part of the global financial system.

At one point, the global market capitalization of this sector reached over $4 trillion, with the emergence of millions of different digital assets.

Countries are striving to implement various solutions and regulations to manage and supervise the digital asset market, particularly in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of weapons of mass destruction. However, along with opportunities, Mr. Hai stated that the digital asset sector also presents significant challenges for regulatory authorities.

According to Mr. Hai, the decentralized, borderless, and anonymous nature of digital assets leads to difficulties in management and supervision.

The increasing risk of money laundering and terrorist financing exploiting the anonymity and decentralized nature of blockchain technology necessitates a robust monitoring mechanism and effective coordinated action, not only between national regulatory agencies but also through interconnected management and oversight mechanisms across countries.

Therefore, the leaders of the Securities Commission emphasized that these challenges require the regulatory body not only to improve the domestic legal framework but also to strengthen regional coordination, gradually building common, harmonized standards while respecting the differences in the development context of each country.

Visrating: Smaller banks are falling behind.

In its recently released updated report on the banking sector, Visrating – a credit rating agency owned by Moody's – points out that smaller banks are lagging behind the industry's recovery as liquidity pressures increase.

Specifically, in the first six months of this year, the creditworthiness of large banks and state-owned banks (SOBs) improved, thanks to a reduction in non-performing loans (NPLs) amidst a recovering real estate market.

Lower credit costs coupled with improved recovery of bad debts have helped increase return on average assets (ROAA) and risk buffers.

Conversely, according to the report, smaller banks are facing more difficulties, affected by high provisions for bad debts and increased funding costs due to increasingly fierce competition.

These banks are also vulnerable to liquidity pressures due to limited highly liquid assets and a heavy reliance on short-term market funding.

Looking ahead, Visrating expects asset quality and profitability to gradually recover in the second half of 2025, thanks to the continued stability of the real estate market and supportive policies that benefit large and state-owned banks.

Shares of bầu Đức's company are no longer on the warning list.

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE) has just decided to remove HAG shares of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint Stock Company from the warning list.

The decision takes effect from August 26th. According to HoSE, the reason is that Hoang Anh Gia Lai Company has rectified the cause that led to its securities being placed on a warning list.

Previously, the company chaired by Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc (Chairman Duc) was placed on the warning list from October 2022 due to accumulated losses.

Financial reports show that by the end of 2024, the accumulated losses remained at VND 422.6 billion. However, in the Q2 2025 financial report, the company eliminated the accumulated losses and recorded over VND 400 billion in undistributed after-tax profits.

Over 11.4 million people in Ho Chi Minh City now have health insurance cards.

According to information from the Vietnam Social Security, in the first six months of 2025, Ho Chi Minh City had more than 11.55 million people participating in various forms of social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance.

Of these, 3.91 million people participated in compulsory social insurance, over 91,400 people participated in voluntary social insurance, 3.83 million people participated in unemployment insurance, and notably, more than 11.46 million people had health insurance cards.

tin tức - Ảnh 3. — Patients with health insurance wait for examination at Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: THUY DUONG

Insurance coverage rates in the city are promising, with approximately 58.6% of working-age people participating in social insurance, over 56% participating in unemployment insurance, and more than 82% participating in health insurance.

However, compared to the end of 2024, the number of people participating in insurance decreased by more than 37,000, highlighting the need for more flexible and practical solutions.

In response, the Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance agency has intensified communication efforts, expanded the target group of participants, especially individual business owners, in accordance with the 2024 Social Insurance Law (effective from July 1, 2025), and closely coordinated with local authorities to strengthen inspections and audits to ensure the rights of workers.