Watch the bulletin here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Introduction
Three stories shaped Vietnam's news on November 3, 2026: a deepening strategic partnership with Italy, a puzzling gap between bank profits and bank share prices, and a November weather outlook that is calmer for storms but still carries heavy-rain risks. Together, they show a country balancing diplomacy, market reform and climate vigilance.
Vietnam and Italy: from trade records to a broader partnership
At the seventh political consultation in Rome on November 2, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang and Italian Undersecretary of State Maria Tripodi reviewed cooperation and set new directions. Bilateral trade reached a record USD 7.3 billion in 2025, passing the USD 7 billion target set in 2023. Vietnam asked Italy to help lift the European Union yellow card on Vietnamese seafood over illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and to urge the remaining five EU member states to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement. The two sides agreed to implement their action plan for 2025-2026, with a vision to 2027, and to deepen cooperation in defence, security, science, technology and innovation, welcoming an Italian naval vessel's visit to Vietnam in September 2026.
The analysis is straightforward: trade momentum is real, but the next gains depend on rules as much as on goods. Effective use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, progress on the seafood yellow card, and ratification of the investment agreement would turn a record trade figure into more durable business confidence.
Bank stocks: profits up, prices down
At the close on November 2, 14 of 28 listed bank stocks traded below VND 15,000 a share, including three below the VND 10,000 par value: PVcomBank at VND 8,600, Vietnam Asia Bank at VND 9,000, and PGBank at VND 9,400. Yet nine-month pre-tax profits told a different story: BVBank up 90 percent to more than VND 825 billion, PVcomBank up 35 percent to nearly VND 1,878 billion, and OCB up more than 20 percent to VND 4,123 billion. The only bank stock to rise on November 2 was NCB, up 5 percent to VND 14,700, after nine-month profit jumped 140 percent.
The lesson, as the source report notes, is that a low nominal price alone does not mean a stock is cheap. Years of share dividends and bonus issues, which act like stock splits, help explain low prices. Investors should therefore look at earnings, asset quality and valuation together, rather than at the ticket price alone. This article is news, not investment advice.
November weather: fewer storms expected, rain risks remain
The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting expects fewer storms in the East Vietnam Sea this November than average, because of a persistent strong El Nino, with the sea expected to remain storm-free in the first half of the month and average temperatures 1 to 2 degrees Celsius above the long-term average. Moderate to heavy rain is expected to concentrate in the central and southern regions, while northern Vietnam may receive 15 to 30 percent more rain than average. For November 3 itself, flash-flood and landslide warnings covered northern mountain provinces including Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Son La and Gia Lai, and no tropical cyclone was threatening Southeast Asia.
The implication is not that November will be quiet everywhere: a calmer storm season can still bring dangerous local rain, and official warnings remain the guide for any specific province or day.
Conclusion
Diplomacy, markets and weather rarely move together, but on November 3 they pointed in the same direction: progress that still needs careful follow-through, whether that means implementing trade agreements, reading bank results beyond headline prices, or heeding local rain warnings even in a calmer storm month.
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