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TO CONSTRUCTING CAPITALI$M

Vietnam Property Debt Crisis Deepens as Major Developer Delays Bond Payment

Mai Ngoc Chau
Wed, February 22, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam’s property debt crisis is intensifying as the country’s second-largest developer joined the ranks of peers seeking debt extensions after failing to repay a bond on time.

No Va Land Investment Group said earlier this week it will delay repayment of a 1 trillion dong ($42 million) note originally due on Feb. 12 and asked holders for an extension or to convert the principal into its real estate products. The developer said it’s seeking to work out a way within two months for it to pay off the debt.

Better known as Novaland, the company is the latest addition to an expanding group of Vietnamese developers that have become late on debt payment, indicating a widening cash crunch in the sector after an anti-graft campaign spooked investors and new bond issuance plunged. With billions of dollars of bonds due this year, the industry’s woes risk triggering a broader crisis for the nation’s banking sector and economy.

“We believe this is just the beginning, and expect more debt extensions, restructurings and defaults,” said Xavier Jean, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings. “We are also watching for contagion effect” that could spill over to companies beyond the construction sector, he said.

The Southeast Asian nation’s property crisis started last year after officials issued a crackdown on corporate bond issuance following allegations of illegal activities, setting off a series of actions to rectify the property market. That included high-level arrests, inspections of brokerages tied to canceled issuances and an overhaul of the bond industry.

Real estate firms have 130 trillion dong of bonds maturing this year, according to a trade ministry publication last week citing estimates by the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association.

Prior to Novaland’s latest announcement, industry peers Tan Hoang Minh Group, Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group and Sunshine Group had also sought to extend bond payment deadlines, according to Hanoi Stock Exchange data.

Novaland’s shares fell as much as 4.2% Thursday morning, after plunging 6.6% the previous day.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance proposed a decree amendment that would let companies extend corporate bond maturities by as long as two years to ease a funding shortage, a local newspaper reported in December. The draft revision, which has been submitted to the government, also includes allowing bond principal and interest to be converted into loans or other assets, according to the trade ministry’s publication last week.

“What will happen next - and whether cross default contagion is to occur or not - will remain as the big concern to the market right now,” according to an investor note by SSI Securities Corp. Wednesday. “What is a must right now is for the issuer to convene a bondholders’ meeting to discuss solutions, including redemption, further guarantees, or a waiver of default.”

--With assistance from Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen and Nguyen Kieu Giang.