FiinRatings brings together Domestic and International Investors to gain Broader Perspectives on Vietnam’s Debt Capital Market

Vietnam’s growing need for medium- and long-term funding is driving efforts to diversify funding channels and broaden its international investor base. However, issuer credit quality, transaction structures and the associated risks remain investors’ primary concerns.

Following the release of its Vietnam Debt Capital Market 2026 Spotlight report, FiinRatings hosted an investor briefing webinar, “Vietnam’s Debt Capital Market: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges”, on 4 November 2026. The webinar brought together institutional investors from Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and beyond.

Key highlights

🔹 Government bonds: The market stands at around 19% of GDP, with holdings concentrated among commercial banks, life insurers and Vietnam Social Security. Foreign investors hold just 0.1%, indicating significant room for growth. The Ministry of Finance has conducted a non-deal roadshow to gauge international investor demand, though no issuance plan has been announced. In parallel, progress towards an investment-grade sovereign rating is a necessary step in preparing for international issuance once global interest rate conditions become more favourable.

🔹 Local government bonds: On 30 October 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council approved a plan for domestic and international bond issuance. The first bond issuance is expected to take place through the city’s International Financial Centre. Although likely modest in size, it will be an important test of international investor appetite and help build momentum towards rating upgrades.

🔹 Corporate bonds: Outstanding local-currency corporate bonds reached 10% of GDP at end-2025, but public offerings account for less than 1% of GDP. A shortage of publicly offered products and long-tenor FX hedging instruments continues to limit the market’s appeal to international institutional funds.

🔹 International bonds and syndicated loans: Nearly USD 10 billion was raised in the first ten months of 2026 despite high benchmark rates. Demand was driven by thin capital buffers at many banks and persistently elevated VND interest rates. This creates opportunities for international financial institutions and DFIs to work with well-rated companies and highly bankable projects.

🔹 Green bonds: Vietnam has yet to issue a sovereign green bond, unlike many ASEAN peers. VND-denominated green corporate bonds total about USD 1 billion, or roughly 2% of outstanding corporate bonds.

🔹 Macroeconomy: The main challenges are lowering lending rates, strengthening the banking system’s capital base and accelerating capital market reform. On the positive side, the cumulative trade deficit narrowed from USD 20.5 billion at end-July to USD 12.1 billion for the first ten months of 2026. FiinRatings expects 2026 to close with a slight surplus. That would support exchange rate stability, strengthen FX reserves and advance the goal of an investment-grade sovereign rating before 2030.

🔹 Barriers for international investors: These include limited information transparency, low credit ratings, a lack of long-tenor FX hedging instruments, and weak enforcement and collateral recovery mechanisms in the event of default.

At the webinar, Mrs. Hang Vu – Chairwoman and Managing Partner of Minh Triet Capital shared her outlook on infrastructure funding for Ho Chi Minh City. She focused on the mechanism for issuing local government bonds through the Vietnam International Financial Centre (VIFC), the potential project pipeline and the role of the private sector.

According to the experts and senior analyst, foreign capital is expected to flow into government bonds, local government bonds and non-bank corporate bonds. How quickly it is deployed will depend on progress in market reform, the availability of hedging instruments, information transparency and credit ratings. Improving these conditions will be a key foundation for Vietnam to attract long-term capital from international financial institutions, alongside its path towards a sovereign rating upgrade.

Committed to providing reliable credit intelligence and independent assessments, FiinRatings will continue to engage with the domestic and international financial community and share market insights. Through credit ratings, credit research and risk assessment solutions, FiinRatings aims to help institutions make well-founded investment decisions, manage risk effectively and contribute to a more transparent and sustainable debt capital market in Vietnam.

📖 Download the presentations: HERE

▶️ Watch the full webinar recording below

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Connect with FiinRatings’ experts for further information:
📩 support@fiinratings.vn
📞 (84-24) 3562 6962