The Ministry of Finance noted that enterprises that still owe bonds are responsible for paying full debentures debt obligations according to the bond issuance plan announced to investors to ensure their reputation in the market. 

In the announcement just released on April 13, the Ministry of Finance said that Decree No. 08 of the Government promulgated on March 5 was changed and added several provisions of the Decrees on individual enterprise bonds. The Decree was promulgated in the circumstance of some short-term difficulties removed needed for businesses while ensuring the rights and benefits of investors.

According to the Ministry of Finance, besides the solutions in Decree No. 08, to develop a safe and clean bond market and strengthen the investors’ belief, each participant in the market complies with the rules.             

“Enterprises that still owe bonds are responsible to the end for their bond debt obligations, proactively clear information about their financial situation, debt repayment ability through credit rating results and audit financial reports" emphasized by the Ministry of Finance.In addition, announcing full information about the original payment situation  and bond interest, using funds from the bond promulgating and being responsible for paying all bond debt obligations according to the bond issuance plan has disclosed information to investors to ensure its credibility in the market.

For investors, the Ministry of Finance noted that it is necessary to have a full understanding of the law, having full access to information about the issuer company and the bond, assessing the financial situation of the issuer enterprise carefully, clearly distinguishing corporate bond products that are not bank deposits, and assessing the level of risk commensurate with the profit when investing in bonds.The Ministry of Finance affirmed that investors have to make their own decisions and are responsible for their investment decisions.Service provision organizations have to take the responsibility to improve service quality, fully comply with the law, and fulfill the obligation to report, advise and provide information adequately to investors who buy bonds, show the difference between corporate bonds and bank savings deposits, make sure investors who do not meet the conditions to become professional investors are not invited to buy bonds.

"State management agencies will continue to promote propaganda, law dissemination and inspection, examination and supervision of activities related to the corporate bond market," the Ministry of Finance affirmed. 

On March 5, 2023, the Government implemented Decree No. 08/2023/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of provisions of the Decrees on individual corporate bonds. Here are some notable points:

• Firstly, the Decree stipulates that enterprises can negotiate with bondholders to pay bond principals and interests with other assets when there is difficulty in paying the principal in full and on time, bond interest following the issuance plan. Accordingly, the issuer and the investor can negotiate to balance the resources of the enterprise and pay the due debt obligations.

• Secondly, enterprises may negotiate with investors to change the terms and conditions of bonds according to regulations and to extend the bond's term up to a maximum of 2 years for bonds released before September 16, 2022.Thirdly, suspend the implementation of the provisions of Decree 65/2022/ND-CP on 3 contents: (i) determining the status of professional stock individual investors; (ii) bond release time of each issuance; (iii) credit ranking results for bond issuers. Accordingly, these provisions of Decree 65 will be implemented from January 1, 2024.

Source: Tai chính doanh nghiep