F88's credit rating upgraded to "BBB" by FiinRatings, stable outlook

According to FiinRatings, F88's capital mobilization and liquidity have gradually improved significantly compared to previous credit rating periods, supported by factors of effective diversification of loan sources (privately issued & public bonds, cooperation with international funds, domestic financial institutions). And the average cost of capital decreased to 14.7% in 1H2025 (2024: 15.6%), thanks to more preferential loan interest rates and hedging costs sharply reduced to 0.8% (from 2-3% previously).

The credit rating results also reflect F88's continued leadership in alternative lending, along with good profitability and asset quality.

Accumulated in the first 9 months of the year, F88's pre-tax profit doubled over the same period, reaching 603 billion VND, equivalent to 90% of the yearly plan (673 billion VND). The Company's return on equity (ROE) increased sharply from 28.3% in the same period last year to 43% in the third quarter of 2025, EPS reached 77,704 VND/share, equivalent to P/E of about 13 times.

Currently, F88 has expanded its scale to 896 stores nationwide, expanded cooperation with many strategic partners, and invested heavily in technology to increase access and convert customers from "offline" to "online", expanding market coverage.

Currently, F88 has expanded to 896 stores nationwide.

Unlike banks that can mobilize from customer deposits, F88's main source of operating capital comes from equity and debt (mobilized from international organizations, domestic financial institutions and bond issuance).

In which, the proportion of debt accounts for 60%-65% of total capital and equity from 35%-40% depending on each period, corresponding to the Debt/Equity ratio from 1.53 - 1.68 times.

F88's Debt/Equity from Q3/2024 to Q3/2025 .

In the first 9 months of 2025, F88 made a mark when it continued to reach an agreement to mobilize 30 million USD (equivalent to 780 billion VND) with a term of 2 to 3 years from Lendable. This is the largest loan value that this London-based international financial institution has ever granted to a financial enterprise in Vietnam. After this capital mobilization, F88's total mobilization scale from Lendable has increased to nearly 70 million USD.

Previously, F88 mobilized thousands of billions of VND from international organizations and recorded outstanding loans of VND 2,487 billion, mainly from Puma Asia, Lendable, Indo-Pacific Liquidity Facility and Lion Asia (as of the end of September 2025).

Regarding bond issuance activities, F88 is also a "reputable" face when it completed the announcement of information on 7 issuances since the beginning of 2025 with a total value of 700 billion VND, thereby increasing the amount of capital mobilized by F88 (including loans from financial institutions and bond issuance) by 19% compared to the beginning of the year, to 3,448 billion VND.

F88's bond issuances announced by CBond since the beginning of the year (Unit: billion VND) (Source: CBond)

FiinRatings also emphasized that F88 is preparing a plan to issue public bonds in 2026.

Note that this form of public bond issuance can be considered an "upgrade" step for F88 because it requires compliance with stricter regulations to protect the interests of investors. Higher conditions for issuing bonds to the public mean that businesses must meet strong financial capacity and strictly comply with regulations. But in return, it significantly expands the ability to mobilize capital from the public market, bonds have higher liquidity and enhance the reputation of businesses in the market.

These factors have helped F88 maintain a stable source of capital for business operations, ensuring a good liquidity foundation. According to FiinRatings' assessment, F88 maintains a flexible strategy of using long-term capital for short-term loans, helping to optimize capital efficiency and ensure liquidity safety. The company also maintains a liquidity buffer of 2% of total assets of the previous year to increase the ability to respond to market fluctuations and support risk management.

According to F88's business results report, the Company's outstanding customer loans increased sharply by 40% compared to the beginning of the year, reaching VND 6,413 billion. In addition, there is a strategy to diversify revenue sources from the insurance sector combined with financial services.

It can be seen that F88's credit rating upgrade is the result of a process of transparency, effective operation, and building a solid reputation of F88... With the specific nature of its business, the problem of capital needs always exists and this is a favorable foundation to help F88 continue to mobilize capital from the bond channel and move towards a better cost of capital thanks to a higher credit rating.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/f88-duoc-fiinratings-nang-xep-hang-tin-nhiem-len-bbb-trien-vong-on-dinh-d419290.html