Capital mobilization through the sluggish bond channel
According to data from the Vietnam Bond Market Association (VBMA), as of February 28, 2026, the market only recorded 1 private placement of bonds worth 79.5 billion VND and 3 public placements with a total value of 3,301 billion VND.
In general, in the first two months of 2026, the total value of private placement reached 270 billion VND, while public placement reached 8, 223 billion VND. This is a very low issuance compared to previous periods, showing that capital mobilization through corporate bond channels has not clearly recovered.
In the opposite direction, the pre-term repurchase activity of enterprises in February reached 1,749 billion VND, a sharp decrease compared to previous months as well as the same period in 2025. This development reflects that bond payment pressure shows signs of cooling down, and also shows that cash flow in the market has not really become active again.
On the secondary market, the total value of private corporate bond transactions in the month reached 63. 184 billion VND, equivalent to an average of 4, 212 billion VND per session, down 22.5% compared to the average of January 2026. Liquidity decline continues to be one of the major bottlenecks of the market.
Unbalanced market structure
Assessing the market, Mr. Nguyen Ba Hung - Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that the proportion of Vietnam's bond market compared to GDP is still relatively low compared to countries in the region, showing that the development room is still very large.
Currently, about 2/3 of the bond market size is government bonds, while corporate bonds only account for about 1/3, equivalent to about 10% of GDP. This structure shows that the role of the business sector in capital mobilization through the bond market is still limited.
Another notable point is that the level of transactions in the secondary market is still lower than in countries in the region. According to Mr. Hung, this makes investors face higher liquidity risks, thereby affecting the attractiveness of the market.
Regarding the investor structure, the market is currently mainly held by commercial banks and insurance companies. Meanwhile, experience from Thailand shows that the market has the participation of about 10 different groups of investors, including foreign investors, showing that the room to expand the investor base in Vietnam is still very large.
On the issuing organization side, about 2/3 of corporate bonds are issued by banks, and another significant part belongs to the real estate sector. This shows that bond capital flows are still concentrated in the financial intermediary sector, not spreading widely to production and business industries.
From the above reality, Mr. Nguyen Ba Hung believes that it is necessary to continue to reform the government bond market, focusing on expanding the investor base. At the same time, improve the efficiency of selecting and implementing public investment projects, and develop public-private partnership models to mobilize more resources from the private sector.
Consolidating the foundation, enhancing investor confidence
Regarding solutions to develop the corporate bond market in the coming time, Ms. Vu Thi Chan Phuong - Chairwoman of the State Securities Commission (SSC) said that the management agency will continue to consolidate the market, remove difficulties and improve investor confidence.
According to the Chairman of the SSC, the Ministry of Finance has submitted to the Government for consideration the promulgation of a new Decree on private placement of domestic corporate bonds and offering of corporate bonds to the international market, in order to replace the regulations in Decree 153. The Ministry of Finance is also studying and completing regulations related to the operation of bond payment guarantee organizations.
The management agency will continue to orient the diversification of bond products, associated with the capital needs of the economy. This includes bond types serving the implementation of investment projects, especially projects in the form of public-private partnerships (PPP), thereby contributing to promoting capital mobilization for infrastructure development.
Ms. Phuong said that decrees related to issuing green bonds, sustainable bonds to serve sustainable development goals and international commitments are being developed and will soon be submitted to the Government for promulgation...
