HANOI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's corporate bond market has remained quiet at the beginning of this year, Vietnam News reported Wednesday, citing only three separate corporate bond issuances in February with a total value of 1.16 trillion Vietnamese dong (47 million U.S. dollars), 68 percent lower than January.
According to the Vietnam Bond Market Association, the market remains gloomy when regulations on corporate bond issuance are tightened, including criteria for professional individual investors and credit rating.
A total of 5.965 trillion dong worth of corporate bonds was issued in the first two months of this year, two public issuances worth 2.65 billion dong and two separate issuances worth 3.315 billion dong, said the association.
Also in February, businesses bought back 2 billion dong bonds before maturity, dropping by 68 percent against the same period last year.
It is estimated that more than 255 trillion dong bonds will mature by the year-end, of which 38.4 percent are in the real estate sector. (1 U.S. dollar equals 24,665 Vietnamese dong) ■
