Purpose: This paper aims to explore the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak and the Government's disease control measures on the stock returns and liquidity of Vietnam-listed companies in the financial services sector.Design/methodology/approach: The authors have conducted a panel data regression analysis using data from 50 banking, insurance and finance companies listed in Vietnam's two biggest stock exchanges (HNX and HOSE) within the period from January 30th, 2020 to May 15th, 2021.Findings: The regression results indicate that the daily growth in the total number of confirmed cases caused by COVID-19 has significant negative effects on the stock market returns and liquidity. Nevertheless, the Government's imposition of lockdown yields significant and positive outcomes on stock performance. In addition, the study reveals remarkable differences in returns of large-cap and small-cap stocks under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Research limitations/implications: The study indicates government and regulators should act more actively to limit the outbreak of the virus, improve investor confidence as well to support the financial services industry and deal with the outbreak of the pandemic later.Originality/value: This is the first study to explore the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak and the Government's disease control measures on the stock returns and liquidity of Vietnam-listed companies in the financial services industry.

The purpose of this research is to investigate whether there is an optimal cash holding ratio, in which firm’s performance can be maximized. The threshold regression model is applied to test the threshold effect of the cash holding ratio on firm’s performance of 306 non-financial companies listed on the Vietnam stock exchange market during the period of 2008–2017. Experimental results showed that a single-threshold effect exists between the ratio of cash holding and company’s performance. A proportion of cash holding within a threshold of 9.93% can contribute to improvement of the company’s efficiency. The coefficient is positive but tends to decrease when the cash holding ratio passes the 9.93% check point, implying that an increase in cash holdings ratio will continue to diminishment of efficiency eventually. Therefore, the relationship between cash holding ratio and firm’s performance is nonlinear. From this result, this paper provides policy implications for non-financial companies listed on the Vietnam stock exchange market in determining the proportion of cash holding flexibly. In detail, non-financial companies listed on the Vietnam stock exchange market should not keep the cash holding ratio over 9.93%. To ensure and enhance the company’s performance, the optimal range of cash holding ratios should be below 9.93%.

The role of private hospitals is increasingly important in Vietnam. The study aims to determine associations between service quality and hospital brand image with satisfaction and patient loyalty, revisit intention at private hospitals in Vietnam. Quantitative cross-sectional data were collected from 268 patients in DaNang city, Vietnam. Scales to measure hospital service quality, hospital brand image, patient satisfaction, loyalty, and patient revisit intention were developed. The methods used to test the hypotheses of the study include exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). One notable finding in this study provides practical evidence on the relationship of hospital service quality and hospital brand image with patient satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, service quality has a direct influence on patient satisfaction and revisit intention as the indicator of patient loyalty. Meanwhile, hospital brand image has a direct influence on patient loyalty, although it did not influence patient satisfaction. Results of this study help providing the basis for the marketing and customer care programs of private hospitals in DaNang city, Vietnam.