There were no corporate bonds issued in Vietnam in February 2025, according to a report from the Vietnam Bond Market Association. The association doesn’t offer any explanation for this, however, the start of the year is typically slower for bond issuances so it does not appear to be that unusual.
That said, over the past few years there has been a significant rejigging of the corporate bond market. Once dominated by real estate firms, their share of outstanding corporate bonds has diminished with the share of corporate bonds belonging to Vietnam banks increasing in order to service borrowing demand.
That no bonds at all were issued in February would suggest Vietnam’s banks no longer need cash although it’s not clear why this might be. It might suggest lower demand for loans, it could also suggest banks are sourcing capital elsewhere, although it would be surprising if banks are becoming weary of taking on more debt with lending well outpacing GDP growth last year.
Also of note in the associations report:
- Enterprises redeemed VND 2,592 billion (or US$103.68 million) of corporate bonds in February, down 58 percent year-on-year.
- Corporate bonds worth VND 192,267 billion (or US$7.69 billion) will mature in the remainder of 2025, with real estate bonds accounting for 54 percent, equivalent to VND 107,235 billion (or US$4.29 billion).
- One corporate bond issuer announced late interest payments totalling VND 39 billion (or US$1.56 million) during February.
- Secondary market transactions of privately issued corporate bonds reached VND 73,491 billion (or US$2.94 billion) in February, averaging VND 3,675 billion (or US$147 million) per day, a decrease of 22 percent compared to January 2025.
See also: It’s Time to Talk About Vietnam’s Credit Growth Policy…