Capital demand will drive increased bond issuance
Statistics on the value of public bond issuance show that this capital mobilization channel has attracted many businesses in recent times, with the value of public issuance in the first 8 months of the year at a record level compared to previous years. At the same time, many businesses are continuing to deploy corporate bond issuances to the public in the coming time.
Assessing the current corporate bond market, Mr. Phung Xuan Minh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saigon Ratings said that according to a survey of businesses in the market, the demand for issuing bonds in both private and public forms has increased from the beginning of the second quarter onwards. Previously, the proportion of public issuance only accounted for about 8 - 10%, but now it has increased and tends to continue to increase in the mobilization structure.
According to Mr. Phung Xuan Minh, there are 3 reasons promoting the increase in public issuance in the recent period.
Firstly, while private issuance is convenient in terms of procedures, the conditions for investors are higher, so many businesses have chosen to add a public issuance channel to access wider sources of capital.
Second, the demand for capital in the market is increasing sharply. Many projects need capital to continue implementation in the coming period, some industries such as renewable energy are preparing for the period 2026 - 2026 with significant mobilization needs, at the same time, the requirements for restructuring and expansion also stimulate the demand for issuance.
Third, as the market becomes more transparent and developed, and more businesses improve their financial and governance quality, bond issuance – both private and public – will recover and grow again.
Mr. Phung Xuan Minh - Chairman of Saigon Ratings Board of Directors |
The Chairman of Saigon Ratings said that in recent times, the legal framework has been continuously improved, helping the bond market become more sustainable, becoming an important capital mobilization channel for businesses. Basically, tightening the legal framework is necessary when previous regulations are not completely strict.
Citing this, Mr. Phung Xuan Minh said that the amendments to the Enterprise Law 2025 have added provisions to ensure financial safety ratio conditions for issuing organizations. From July 1, 2025, non-public companies when issuing individual bonds must have total liabilities (including the value of the bonds expected to be issued) not exceeding 5 times the equity.
This regulation will lead to some shifting trends in the capital market. Specifically, some enterprises that are not qualified will have to slow down their bond issuance plans, instead increasing equity, supplementing resources or finding other mobilization plans. At the same time, the regulation also helps the issuance focus on enterprises with healthier finances, enterprises with reasonable leverage and strong equity will prevail.
Recently, the Debt/Equity ratio not exceeding 5 times was also added to tighten the issuance conditions for corporate bonds issued to the public, stipulated in Decree 245/2025/ND-CP issued on September 11, 2025 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 155/2020/ND-CP.
With the above amendments and supplements to financial safety conditions, Mr. Phung Xuan Minh assessed that it will help to screen and raise standards for products in the corporate bond market. In the short term, the impact on the amount of bonds issued may be there but will still not be much, but in the long term, these boundaries will create strong differentiation between businesses, contributing to increasing safety, transparency and creating the premise for stable growth of the bond market in the long term.
Credit rating - an important filter on bond quality
In addition to the provisions on financial safety, Decree 245/2025/ND-CP also added mandatory credit rating requirements for issuers or bonds offered to the public, except in some special cases (for example: Bonds issued by credit institutions, or bonds guaranteed by credit institutions/foreign bank branches, foreign financial institutions or international financial institutions for full payment of principal and interest).
Previously, according to Decree No. 155/2020/ND-CP, in order to offer bonds to the public, the issuer or the bond registered for offering was only required to have a credit rating if the total value of bonds mobilized in each 12 months was greater than VND 500 billion and greater than 50% of equity; or the total outstanding bond debt was greater than 100% of equity.
The head of Saigon Ratings said that this change not only helps increase transparency but also contributes to improving the quality of goods in the bond market, creating confidence for investors and supporting sustainable market development.
Specifically, the regulation promotes transparency and full information for investors. Independent credit ratings will provide an objective assessment of solvency, credit risk and issue quality, helping individual and institutional investors easily distinguish between high-quality products and those with potential risks. This, on the one hand, better protects the interests of investors, and on the other hand, is a preventive measure to avoid repeating past default events, contributing to strengthening market confidence.
Mandatory credit ratings for public bonds will also improve the overall quality of bond issuances. Issuers will be forced to improve their credit profiles, risk management and financial capacity to achieve good ratings, leading to the gradual elimination of poor quality bonds from the market and encouraging more responsible issuers, contributing to the building of a more sustainable and professional bond market.
At the same time, from the perspective of market development, this regulation will attract more foreign and domestic investment capital when it is in line with international standards (such as Basel or IOSCO), helping the Vietnamese bond market integrate more deeply, increase scale and liquidity, and protect investors' rights - a key factor for healthy market development.
“The new regulations will contribute to screening, helping bonds circulating on the public market truly reflect their quality, minimize systemic risks, and create opportunities for good businesses to access capital at more reasonable costs. These changes make Decree 245 not only an important step forward in stock market management but also an effective tool to improve the quality of goods in the bond market, bringing long-term benefits to the entire financial ecosystem of Vietnam,” Mr. Phung Xuan Minh emphasized.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/siet-chat-dieu-kien-phat-hanh-trai-phieu-ra-cong-chung-la-can-thiet-d390948.html
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