HCMC – The bond market is going downhill, with a plunge in corporate bond sales volumes between January and October, the Ministry of Finance said in a recent report.

Bond sales in the 10-month period dipped 25.2% over the same period in 2021 to VND328.9 trillion, with over half of the bonds being unsecured and offered by financial companies.

The first quarter saw VND134.8 trillion worth of corporate bonds sold in the market. The figure ebbed steadily to VND122.4 trillion in the next quarter and halved in the third quarter, at VND65.9 trillion, before taking a nosedive to VND5.8 trillion in October.

Corporate bonds are the most common in the market, accounting for over 41.3% of the total bond sales. Of the amount, the bonds offered by real estate and construction companies made up nearly 28.9% and 7.8%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the number of bonds redeemed before maturity surged 49.6% to VND152.5 trillion over 2021.

According to the Vietnam News Agency, the market has begun to encounter financial woes since the leaders of the Tan Hoang Minh Group and Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Corporation were detained and rumors of some property corporations grappling with difficulties flew around.

Besides, banks have successfully wooed investors into the savings channel with high interest rates, placing a strain on the market.