Banks have been the main player in the corporate bond market so far this year, with eight of the top 10 biggest issuers being financial institutions.

Customers make transactions at a VPBank branch. VPBank was the biggest bond issuer in the last seven months with total value of nearly 13 trillion VND (552 millionUS$). — Photo courtesy of VPBank

Viet Nam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) topped the list with bond issuance reaching 12.86 trillion VND (US$552 million) in value in the first seven months of the year, the latest debt market report from MB Securities Joint Stock Company showed.

In July alone, VPBank successfully issued 300 million US$ dollar-denominated bonds in Singapore with a three-year term and fixed interest rate of 6.25% per year.

Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) ranked second with total issuance value of VNĐ7.85 trillion while Viet Nam International Bank (VIB) came third with 5 trillion VND.

Other big players included LienVietPost Bank (LPB), Ho Chi Minh Development Bank (HDBank), An Binh Bank (ABB), Bac A Bank (BAB) and Southeast Asia Bank (SeaBank), each with issuance values of between 2 trillion VND and 4 trillion VND.

Tien Phong Bank (TPB) and Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) also have plans to issue international bonds.

TPB announced a plan to issue 200 million$ in bonds this year while SHB is collecting shareholder opinions on a plan to raise capital through international bond issuance.

According to the report, banks are under pressure to raise capital to ensure their capital adequacy ratios to meet the Basel II standards, and issuing bonds is one of the most effective ways to raise capital.

Apart from banks, real estate companies also actively sought capital in the bond market. Big names included Vinpearl JSC, Novaland Investment, Tan Lien Phat Sai Gon Business Real Estate Co Ltd, Hung Thinh Land JSC and Ngoc Minh Real Estate Development Investment Co Ltd with issuance values of between 1 trillion VND and 2 trillion each VND.

In June and July, there were 44 bond issuers including eight banks, 17 realty companies and two securities companies. The remaining 17 companies that issued bonds were from different sectors. 

(Source: VNS)