Vietnam is stepping up efforts to improve its national credit rating, aiming for a two-notch upgrade to Baa3 on the Moody’s Rating scale, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang has said.
Speaking at a recent working session with Moody’s Ratings President Michael West, Minister Thang noted that the Vietnamese Government issued a decree on credit rating services in 2024. To date, five enterprises have been licensed to operate in this field.
The minister was quoted by the Government News as saying that the Finance Ministry is strongly promoting the role of fiscal policy, particularly through the development of the capital market, including both the stock and bond segments.
Regulations governing corporate bond issuance — covering public offerings and private placements — are being refined in line with international practices. The changes are intended to create favourable conditions for financially sound enterprises with viable projects to mobilise medium- and long-term capital.
Regarding the stock market, Mr. Thang highlighted that in September 2025, FTSE Russell upgraded Vietnam's stock market from a frontier market to Secondary Emerging Market status, to be effective on September 21, 2026.
Market capitalisation is projected to reach at least 100% of GDP this year. In the first two months alone, total market capitalisation rose by nearly 5%, reaching more than 84% of GDP — a sign of positive momentum, he said.
For his part, Mr. West expressed confidence in Vietnam’s long-term growth prospects, citing its strong GDP growth, solid external position, export competitiveness and stable foreign direct investment inflows.
Members of the Moody’s delegation also acknowledged the country’s ample fiscal space, sound debt repayment capacity and the Government’s robust reform agenda. These reforms, they noted, are expected to enhance institutional quality and strengthen the foundations of Vietnam’s credit profile.
Moody’s committed to continuing its support for the development of Vietnam’s domestic capital and debt markets. The agency will assist in refining infrastructure bond rating methodologies, building a Second Party Opinion (SPO) framework for sustainable bonds in line with the country’s green taxonomy and international standards, and expanding training programs, workshops and the sharing of global best practices.
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