On August 23, 2024, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Bond Market Association (VBMA) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized the Workshop on Accelerating Corporate Bond Market Recovery. This event was one of many activities by VBMA aimed at addressing the challenges faced by its members, thereby supporting the recovery and development of the corporate bond market.

The Workshop attracted over 100 participants from VBMA member organizations, state agencies, and other entities interested in the Vietnamese corporate bond market.

Speakers discussed the current state of the corporate bond market, analyzed the difficulties faced by market members, and proposed practical solutions and directions for the market. Specifically:

- Mr. Vuong Thanh Long, Vice Chairman of VBMA, delivered the opening remarks of the Workshop, emphasizing the importance of addressing existing issues and limitations, focusing on developing the corporate bond market as a safe, transparent, and sustainable channel for medium- and long-term capital mobilization.

- Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Tam, Deputy Director of the Banking Finance Department at the Ministry of Finance, assessed the situation of the Vietnamese corporate bond market in the early months of 2024 and proposed several solutions for implementation in the near future. The Deputy Director highlighted that developing a stable and sustainable corporate bond market is far more important than merely achieving growth in scale.

- Mr. To Tran Hoa, Deputy Director of the Market Development Department at the State Securities Commission, discussed the direction for amending the Securities Law and the subsequent guidelines from the Commission regarding the activities of the corporate bond market.

- Mr. Satoru (Tomo) Yamadera, Advisor at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), provided suggestions for reshaping the corporate bond market. These proposals were directed at both government agencies and market members, covering both private placements and public offerings.

- Mr. Ngo The Trieu, CEO of Eastspring Investments, raised concerns from an institutional investor's perspective when investing in corporate bonds and proposed solutions related to information disclosure, terms and conditions, pricing, and collateral management.

- Ms. Tran Thi Thu Trang, Deputy CEO of Techcom Securities, outlined the current state of the corporate bond market and proposed solutions aimed at enhancing the quality and diversity of products, encouraging participation from various types of investors, addressing regulatory and policy bottlenecks, and improving trading infrastructure.

- Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh, Head of VBMA's Legal Committee, summarized the recommendations and feedback from members regarding legal documents related to bond investment activities, covering aspects from issuance, credit rating, registration, custody, transfer, exercising rights, to early repayment and trading registration cancellation.

- Mr. Nguyen Duc Anh Tuan, Acting Director of the Bond Registration Management Department, Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC), responded to several recommendations from VBMA members regarding registration, custody, and exercising rights related to corporate bonds.

- Mr. Tran Trong Kien, Deputy Head of the Bond Market Department at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), addressed members' feedback regarding the registration of corporate bond transactions.

- Mr. Hoang Dinh Gia, Investment Specialist at the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF), spoke about the role of a guarantor like CGIF in supporting the development of the corporate bond market.

- Mr. Tran Le Minh, Managing Director of VIS Rating, moderated a panel discussion with speakers from VSDC, HNX, Eastspring Investments, Techcom Securities, and CGIF.