A VIB office. The bank topped the corporate bond market in September as the biggest issuer. — Photo vib.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Private corporate bonds raised in September dived from the previous month after a decree took effect to tighten the issuance on the corporate bond market.

Data from the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) showed the total value of corporate bonds sold in September was VNĐ16.25 trillion (nearly US$700 million), news site ndh.vn reported.

September’s value nosedived 80 per cent from August's record of VNĐ83.8 trillion and was still modest compared to the March-July period.

Between March and July, local companies issued an average of VNĐ30.3 trillion worth of bonds, ndh.vn reported.

In September, banks’ issuance accounted for 80 per cent of the total sold value, which was VNĐ13.17 trillion.

The Việt Nam International Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VIB) topped the market as it sold VNĐ3.5 trillion worth of bonds in September.

Orient Joint Stock Commercial Bank (OCB), the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), and Sài Gòn-Hà Nội Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SHB) issued VNĐ2 trillion each.

Among non-banking companies, SAM Holdings was the biggest bond issuer, raising total VNĐ300 billion worth of bonds.

The bonds were due in 24 months at an 11 per cent annual interest rate. Bonds were backed by 24 million shares of Bình Dương Production and Trading Goods Corporation (UPCoM: PRT) and 20 million shares of Phú Thọ Tourist Service JSC (UPCoM: DSP).

On September 1, Decree 81/2020/NĐ-CP took effect to restrict risky purchases of corporate bonds to make the bond market stronger and more sustainable.

Banks face tighter rules

The State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) published a draft circular regulating financial-banking firms’ buying of corporate bonds to make sure banks control bad debts and credit risks.

Under the draft circular, a financial-banking institution can only purchase corporate bonds if its bad-debt ratio is below 3 per cent of the total assets, recorded in the previous year’s audited financial report.

The institution is forbidden from buying bonds from the issuer that logs bad debts in other banks and financial firms in the last 12 months prior to the purchase date.

In addition, the institution is not allowed to buy bonds to help the issuer restructure its debts or raise ownership in the issuer or any third-party company.

The SBV is waiting to collect feedback on the draft circular. — VNS