Bond market posts positive growth in 2025

Despite a year marked by volatility in both the global and domestic economies, Vietnam’s bond market remained stable and continued to post positive growth, a conference held on November 6 in northern Quang Ninh province heard. Held by the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), in coordination with the Department of Financial Institutions at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the State Treasury, and the State Securities Commission (SSC), the conference discussed measures to further develop both the government bond and corporate bond markets to bolster capital mobilization in support of the double-digit economic growth targets for 2026 and beyond.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Tam, Deputy Director of the Department of Financial Institutions, said 2025 marks the final year of the 2021-2025 socio-economic development plan, and is a pivotal year in delivering the best possible results while laying the groundwork for the 2026-2030 period, which carries both high expectations and significant challenges for Vietnam’s economic development in the new era.

Steady amid volatility

Ms. Tam noted that despite complex developments in the global and domestic economies and various external pressures, Vietnam’s bond market remained stable and continued to grow in 2025. Total capital raised stood at more than VND730 trillion ($28.08 billion), equivalent to some 27 per cent of total social investment. As of October, the bond market’s size stood at approximately VND3,830 trillion ($147.31 billion), or 33.3 per cent of 2024 GDP.

Notably, the government bond market grew by 7.4 per cent in absolute value compared with 2024, reaching about 22.1 per cent of 2024 GDP. Government bond issuance has increasingly become the State’s primary fundraising channel, accounting for 70 per cent of central budget capital needs and roughly 80 per cent of the government’s total domestic financing during the 2021-2025 period.

The average maturity of government bond issuance during 2025 was 9.84 years, meeting the target set by the National Assembly. The average cost of capital remained reasonable, contributing to the restructuring of public debt towards greater safety and sustainability.

Despite these gains, Ms. Tam emphasized that the government bond market must further improve liquidity in both the primary and secondary markets to meet sharply rising capital needs for economic growth in 2026-2030, which are expected to be more than double the levels in the 2021-2025 period.

Based on the VND500 trillion ($19.23 billion) government bond issuance plan assigned by the MoF for 2025, the State Treasury developed and released a detailed schedule by maturity. The plan concentrates issuance in the 10-year tenor at VND230 trillion ($8.85 billion), the 15-year tenor at VND85 trillion ($3.27 billion), and the 5-year tenor at VND100 trillion ($3.85 billion).

As of the end of October, the State Treasury had issued VND283,400 trillion ($10.9 billion), achieving 57 per cent of the full-year plan. In return, the government bond portfolio remained safe and sustainable, with the average maturity in 2025 reaching 9.84 years; in line with the National Assembly’s target of nine to eleven years.

Liquidity constraints kept bid volumes in government bond auctions below expectations, creating significant challenges for issuance. As of the end of October 2025, the State Treasury had called for bids totaling VND535,500 trillion ($20.6 billion), but actual bids reached only VND454,130 trillion ($17.47 billion).

By tenor, the State Treasury focused on issuing government bonds with maturities from five to 30 years, with the 10-year tenor taking the lead. Data for the ten-month period shows that 10-year bonds accounted for 82 per cent of total issuance, followed by 5-year bonds at 12 per cent and 15-year bonds at 5 per cent. All other maturities recorded minimal volumes.

Regarding interest rates, government bond yields closely tracked market rates. Charts of issuance yields across maturities in 2025 compared with secondary-market yields show a clear upwards trend in both.

In terms of investor composition, Vietnam Social Security remained the largest buyer of government bonds, accounting for 65 per cent of purchases. Commercial banks made up 26 per cent, while insurance companies, securities firms, and investment funds collectively accounted for 9 per cent.

Market in motion

According to data from the SSC, the corporate bond debt-to-GDP ratio has reached 10.2 per cent this year. Total corporate bond issuance in the first nine months amounted to VND462.7 trillion ($17.8 billion), up nearly 44 per cent from the same period of 2024. Of this, there were ten public bond issuances worth nearly VND21 trillion ($800 million), accounting for 15.8 per cent of total issuance value, and 386 private placements worth VND441.7 trillion ($17 billion), accounting for 84.2 per cent.

Looking only at public bond issuance, 86.37 per cent of value in the first nine months came from the banking sector and 10.24 per cent from real estate. This differs from 2024, when credit institutions and real estate companies were the largest issuers in the corporate bond market, accounting for 65 per cent and 21 per cent of total issuance, respectively, followed by the industrial sector with 4 per cent.

For privately-placed corporate bonds, banks have been the largest issuers since the beginning of the year, accounting for 70 per cent of issuance value, while real estate ranked second with around 22 per cent. These proportions were also higher than in 2024, when credit institutions accounted for 66.04 per cent of total issuance value and real estate companies around 22.4 per cent.

The private corporate bond trading system operated by HNX received and listed 570 bond codes from 137 companies in 2024, with registered trading value reaching nearly VND512,192 billion ($19.7 billion). In just the first nine months of this year, it received and listed 361 bond codes from 85 companies with registered trading value of nearly VND393,053 billion ($15.1 billion).

As of December 31, 2024, there were 26 companies with publicly-listed bonds, representing 68 bond codes and a total value of VND90.7 trillion ($3.5 billion). By October 30, 2025, the exchange had received listing applications from 28 companies covering 75 bond codes with a total value of VND125.2 trillion ($4.8 billion).

The average issuance interest rate in 2024 for privately-placed corporate bonds was about 7.2 per cent per annum, while for publicly-issued corporate bonds it averaged 8.5 per cent. In the third quarter of this year, the average issuance interest rate stood at 7.18 per cent per annum and the average maturity was 4.6 years. A total of 1,931 bond codes made principal and interest payments in 2024, including VND53.1 trillion ($2 billion) in interest and VND105.7 trillion ($4.1 billion) in principal, for a combined VND158.6 trillion ($6.1 billion).

The MoF has proactively and regularly reported market developments to competent authorities over recent years, recommending policy solutions and regulatory measures. As a result, the corporate bond market recorded positive growth in 2025 compared to 2024 in both the number of issuing companies and the value of capital raised, with total issuance reaching about VND441.7 trillion ($16.99 billion).

“Notably, we acknowledge and greatly appreciate the active participation of investors in the bond market, as well as the Vietnam Bond Market Association, which has acted as a bridge between regulators and market members,” Ms. Tam said. “Throughout the market’s development, the Ministry has also worked closely with, and received valuable support from, international financial institutions.”

For a stronger market

Delivering directives at the conference, Deputy Minister of Finance Mr. Nguyen Duc Chi acknowledged the efforts of and commended the positive results achieved by regulatory bodies, relevant organizations, and market participants in the bond market over recent years.

He noted that in the new context, the Party and the government have set a GDP growth target of at least 10 per cent for 2026 and the following years. Therefore, alongside the equity market, expectations for the bond market, both government and corporate bonds, are significant, as it must become a primary channel for mobilizing and allocating medium and long-term capital to support economic growth.

He instructed regulatory agencies and related organizations to continue improving the legal framework, refining issuance procedures and technical processes, and proactively managing government bond issuance in line with State budget financing needs and market conditions, closely tied to treasury management. He also emphasized the need for continued coordination with the State Bank of Vietnam to ensure effective fundraising for the State budget through prudent monetary policy management.

Alongside ongoing efforts to diversify market products, the Deputy Minister directed that green government bonds be introduced to mobilize capital for green public investment projects that support sustainable, environmentally-responsible growth. He also called for stronger investor development measures, particularly for financially capable institutional investors such as investment funds, insurance companies, pension funds, and commercial banks. For the corporate bond market, he stressed the importance of strengthening communications and investor education, with a focus on developing a more robust base of professional securities investors to ensure more stable, disciplined, and effective market growth.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Duong, Vice Chairman of the SSC, told the conference that the agency will fully incorporate the guidance from Deputy Minister Chi. Together with the Ministry’s directives and the views shared at the gathering, regulators and related units will consolidate and refine proposals to craft effective solutions that help both the government bond and corporate bond markets expand more strongly and meet rising capital mobilization needs in the years to come.

Among the many coordinated measures the SSC is prioritizing, as the regulator of the securities sector and an advisory body to the MoF, several key pillars stand out to develop Vietnam’s capital market in a safe, transparent, and efficient manner.

On expanding the institutional investor base, the Commission aims to encourage greater participation from domestic and foreign investment funds, particularly specialized funds, infrastructure funds, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) funds. At the same time, it is studying mechanisms for bond guarantees by capable financial institutions, to broaden medium and long-term funding channels. Regulations governing asset allocation by financial institutions into corporate bonds are also being reviewed to ensure both safety and market development.

Regarding improvements to product quality, it is pushing ahead with Vietnam’s stock market upgrade roadmap, strengthening IPO and listing standards, and aligning conditions for issuing shares and bonds with international practices. For greater transparency, it is enhancing disclosure mechanisms to ensure full and timely information, especially for listed companies and corporate bond issuers, while tightening enforcement against violations to protect investors’ legitimate interests.

On market infrastructure, efforts are underway to modernize trading, clearing, and settlement systems and to build a unified, connected, and accessible market database. In terms of supervision, the SSC is refining an integrated oversight model and strengthening coordination between regulatory bodies to ensure system safety.

To ensure an efficiently functioning market, the Commission emphasized the need for collective effort from all market participants. While public companies must improve corporate governance, transparency, and accountability to shareholders and investors, investors must invest professionally, with long-term strategies and thorough assessments of risks and returns.