Credit rating: 'Golden key' to elevate Vietnam's bond market

(Chinhphu.vn) - On November 12, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Finance and the Asian Development Bank held a workshop on "Vietnam's credit rating market: Development orientation and potential", contributing to perfecting the mechanism and affirming the role of credit rating in the capital market.

Workshop "Vietnam's credit rating market: Development orientation and potential" - Photo: VGP/HT

Capital market development, increasing demand for transparency

In recent years, Vietnam has achieved many important economic achievements, becoming an attractive destination for domestic and foreign capital flows. Along with that, the capital market has developed rapidly, playing a key role in mobilizing resources for development investment.

Along with this growth is the formation and development of the credit rating market (CGM). Since the Government issued Decree 88/2014/ND-CP regulating CGM services, this field has gradually affirmed its indispensable role in the financial ecosystem, contributing to enhancing the transparency and efficiency of the corporate bond market (CGM).

XHTN activities bring benefits to both investors and issuing enterprises. For investors, XHTN provides a basis for assessing the financial capacity and debt repayment ability of enterprises, helping them analyze and quantify risks before deciding to invest. For enterprises, XHTN results are not only a tool to reflect reputation but also a driving force to improve financial transparency, enhance management efficiency, thereby reducing capital mobilization costs when achieving high ratings.

Stepping forward with mandatory credit rating regulations

According to the representative of the Ministry of Finance , one of the important steps forward of the market is the application of mandatory credit rating regulations for corporate bonds. This regulation will be applied from 2023 for bonds issued to the public and from 2024 for bonds issued individually.

To implement that policy, the Ministry of Finance has advised the Government to submit to the National Assembly amendments to the Securities Law and the Enterprise Law, supplementing regulations on the responsibilities of organizations providing social security services and conditions for issuing bonds to individual investors. In particular, Decree 245/2025/ND-CP stipulates that enterprises must have social security when issuing bonds to the public, marking a strong shift towards transparency and market discipline.

Along with the development of the capital market, especially after the Vietnamese stock market was upgraded to a secondary emerging market by FTSE Russell, the number of enterprises actively participating in XHTN is increasing. To date, more than 140 enterprises in the fields of real estate, securities, energy, and manufacturing have been ranked when offering bonds.

In 2024, there will be 216.6 trillion VND of bonds issued by 54 issuers with XHTN, accounting for 46.3% of the total issuance value of the whole market. In the first 10 months of 2025, the value of bonds with XHTN reached 287.4 trillion VND, 2.1 times higher than the same period last year. By the end of October 2025, the total outstanding bonds of issuers with XHTN reached nearly 461 trillion VND, equivalent to 33.7% of the total outstanding corporate bond debt of the whole market.

These figures show that XHTN is becoming a new standard in issuance and investment activities, and at the same time affirms the strong development potential of this field in Vietnam.

Mr. Le Minh Hung - State Securities Commission said that the legal framework on CSR has been completed through many important documents such as Securities Law No. 54/2019/QH14, Law 56/2024/QH15 amended, Decree 155/2020/ND-CP and the Strategy for developing the stock market to 2030. This strategy clearly defines the task of strengthening the role of CSR organizations, moving towards requiring enterprises issuing bonds to be CSRed - forming the habit of using this result in investment.

According to the Ministry of Finance, along with legal improvements, Vietnam is coordinating with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and international partners to implement a technical assistance program, training and dissemination of laws on CSR. In November 2025, the Ministry of Finance continued to organize two workshops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to disseminate new regulations, share international experiences, and discuss with businesses the mechanism for monitoring CSR results and the internal control system to prevent conflicts of interest.

Experts say that developing a culture of social responsibility is a core factor for the capital market to operate sustainably. International experience shows that when businesses consider social responsibility as a criterion for reputation, the market will self-regulate towards more transparency and discipline.

The Vietnamese government is prioritizing the completion of the legal framework for the capital market in accordance with international best practices, aiming for a safe, efficient and sustainable investment environment. In that process, XHTN is considered the "golden key" to help connect investors and businesses on a trustworthy and public platform.

This workshop contributes to conveying the Government's message on encouraging the development of a transparent and healthy credit rating market, towards forming a credit rating culture in Vietnam - where credit rating results become a reliable reference channel for domestic and foreign investors.

Based on the discussion results, the Ministry of Finance will continue to research and advise on perfecting the development orientation of the XHTN market, ensuring that this field plays its proper role - becoming the foundation of a transparent, safe and sustainable capital market, in line with the policies of the Party and the Government.

Mr. Minh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/xep-hang-tin-nhiem-chia-khoa-vang-nang-tam-thi-truong-trai-phieu-viet-nam-102251112141851185.htm