Overhaul aims to secure Vietnam’s bond market

Overhaul aims to secure Vietnam’s bond market

As Vietnam’s corporate bond market braces for over $5.26 billion in maturing debt in the second half of 2025, more than half of which stems from the real estate sector, policymakers are accelerating legal reforms to fortify market stability and investor confidence.

According to Vietnam Bond Market Association (VBMA), approximately $5.26 billion (VND131.6 trillion) in corporate bonds will mature in the second half of 2025.

Of this, $2.8 billion is real estate-related bonds. In June alone, businesses repurchased bonds worth $1.57 billion before maturity – up 54 per cent on-year.

Bond issuance surged in June, with VBMA data from the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh stock exchanges recording 65 private placements worth $3.48 billion – the highest monthly total since 2022, with over 80 per cent of the issuances coming from commercial banks.

Leading private banks such as ACB, MBBank, and Techcombank had already completed roughly half of their 2025 bond issuance plans by the end of June, with more issuances expected in the latter half of the year. By midyear, the outstanding volume of corporate bonds stood at $54.4 billion, up 2.7 per cent on-month. Within the non-financial sector, real estate firms continued to dominate.

Vingroup and affiliated entities accounted for 81 per cent of the total bond issuance among real estate developers in the first half of the year.

The market also received a boost in confidence when, on June 25, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement disbursed over $280 million (24.8 per cent of bond face value) to bondholders of 25 bond codes issued by four companies associated with the Van Thinh Phat Group bond scandal.

Major credit rating agency VIS Rating described the move as a precedent-setting event that could reinforce legal enforcement and restore investor trust.

In parallel with these developments, Vietnam’s regulatory framework for corporate bonds is undergoing significant changes.

Under the amended Law on Enterprises, effective since July 1, non-public companies issuing private bonds must ensure total liabilities, including the planned issuance, do not exceed five times their equity.

In a talk with the media about the bond market highlights last month, Pham Thi Thanh Tam, deputy director of the Financial Institutions Department under Ministry of Finance, emphasised that the new leverage rule is designed not to stifle bond issuance, but to reduce default risks and promote a safer, more transparent and sustainable market.

"These changes will protect investor rights while helping issuers improve their financial resilience," said Tam.

The Ministry of Finance is currently working with relevant government bodies to revise four key decrees concerning public and private bond issuance, penalties for violations in the securities sector, and credit rating regulations.

Among the planned amendments is the introduction of stricter sanctions for misconduct related to private bond placements.

Commenting on the impact of the new regulation, Nguyen Quang Huy, CEO of the Faculty of Finance-Banking at Nguyen Trai University, said, "The leverage cap would mainly affect companies that rely heavily on debt, particularly real estate developers, in the short term, but in the medium and long term, it will benefit the market by encouraging healthier capital structures."

"Real estate firms have traditionally used high leverage and long capital cycles, with heavy dependence on private bonds. The new rules will push them to adopt more sustainable financing strategies," he added.

VIR