The total value of corporate bond principal due for repayment by non-banking entities in May is estimated at 11.4 trillion VND, double the amount due in April.

The total value of corporate bond issuances in September dropped significantly, by 60% from August, to the lowest figure recorded since May, a recent report showed.

The corporate bond market is expected to remain relatively sluggish until the end of the first quarter of 2024, as conditions for issuing and trading corporate bonds tighten.

The real estate sector has witnessed a surge in corporate bond issuances worth a total of 30 trillion VND (1.22 billion USD) in the third quarter of 2023, a move aimed at debt restructuring rather than capital raising.

The operation of a separate corporate bond trading system is necessary to develop a transparent secondary market and increase liquidity for corporate bonds.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 25 asked ministries and sectors to optimise all tools to remove difficulties facing the financial, corporate bond and real estate markets, thus pumping in more resources and promoting major growth in consumption, exports and investment.

The corporate bond market is showing signs of recovery with a notable increase in both the number of issuers and the value of issued bonds in March.

A total of 420 private placements of corporate bonds worth approximately 244.6 trillion VND (10.43 billion USD) were made in 2022, accounting for 96% of the total issuance value and marking a year-on-year decrease of 66 %.

In 2022, despite many difficulties, Vietnam has managed to keep the macro-economic stability, with high economic growth, controlled inflation and ensured major balances, as well as political stability and protected security and national sovereignty, and enhanced external relations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said at the 5th Vietnam Economic Forum in Hanoi on December 17.

While it is urgent to tackle the liquidity problem, a fundamental solution is regaining investors’ confidence and stabilising the corporate bond market, experts said.

Building a solid and long-term legal basis for corporate bond issuance is an urgent solution to build a capital market for the real estate sector.

The Ministry of Construction (MoC) has proposed controlling the bond issuance activities of real estate enterprises but not tightening investment in real estate bonds, Nguyen Manh Khoi, Deputy Director of MoC's Housing and Market Management Department, said at the monthly press conference held on June 13.

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Thi Hong has submitted a report to National Assembly (NA) deputies on issues raised during the Question-and-Answer session, including credit management and control in potentially risky areas, especially securities lending, corporate bond issuance and real estate.

In 2021, corporate bond yields were at their lowest level in history at just 7.86 percent a year. The interest rate may have created a bottom and will support corporate bond yields inching up in 2022.

Vietnam is making concerted efforts to improve the quality of information disclosure and transparency of corporate bond issues and listings to develop a healthy bond market and reduce risks for investors.

Top Vietnamese mobile phone retailer Mobile World Group (MWG) completed its first corporate bond issuance, worth a total of 1.135 trillion VND, or about 50 million USD, on November 21.