Corporate bonds warmed up at the end of the year

In early December, the Investment and Industrial Development Corporation (Becamex IDC) finished issuing 1,080 billion VND of bonds with an interest rate of 10.7% per year. The purpose is to restructure corporate debt, including payment of principal and interest on bank debts. Vinhomes also plans to offer a maximum of VND 4,000 billion in individual bonds after successfully issuing VND 2,000 billion in bonds at the end of November.

Recently, many businesses have been busy mobilizing capital through the bond channel. Huy Duong Group, related to the Greenhill Village Quy Nhon project, has issued 900 billion VND in bonds, with an interest rate of 12.5% ​​per year. The investor of The Maris Vung Tau project also mobilized more than 1,700 billion VND. Pawnshop chain F88 also finished issuing 100 billion VND of bonds, the 7th batch since the beginning of the year.

According to data from the Vietnam Bond Market Association (VBMA), in November there were 29 individual corporate bond issuances, worth 24,388 billion. Accumulated from the beginning of the year until now, there have been 362 private issuances worth VND 342,716 billion, more than 10% higher than the figure for the whole year of 2023.

The bond market started to warm up from the second half of the year when every month there were dozens of issuances with a total value of tens of trillions of dong. In the last months of the year, the market recorded more non-financial enterprises participating in capital mobilization, instead of the banking group accounting for an overwhelming proportion. This is considered a positive signal.

Besides, according to FiinRatings – a credit rating organization belonging to Fiingroup – from the beginning of the year to the end of November, the market had 4 lots of green bonds issued according to the green principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). ) with a total value of nearly 6.9 billion VND, accounting for about 2% of the total issuance value in the period. These bond batches are all evaluated and confirmed by independent organizations.

Next year, the amended Securities Law will take effect. VIS Rating – a credit rating organization cooperating with Moody’s – evaluates that the amendments are beneficial to bondholders by preventing violations from bond issuers and limiting high-risk investment activities. , mandatory introduction of timely information disclosures and credit ratings to improve market discipline. This group of experts expects that the new law’s emphasis on investor protection and sustainable growth of the corporate bond market will promote improved market confidence and more vibrant issuance activities in 2025. .

However, bond maturity pressure has not cooled much. In the last month of 2024, VBMA estimates that there will be about 42,053 billion VND of bonds maturing, of which the majority are real estate bonds with 14,502 billion VND, equivalent to 34%. To date, there are also 7 new bond codes with delayed interest payments with a total value of more than 151 billion VND.

According to VNDirect, in December there will be more than 38,000 billion VND of individual corporate bonds due, doubling compared to the previous month. At the same time, negotiations to change bond terms and conditions between issuers and bondholders are still taking place vigorously. As of early December, there were more than 100 businesses that reached extension agreements with bondholders, with a total extended value of more than 160,000 billion VND. However, in the first months of 2025, maturity pressure will decrease significantly.