Ho Chi Minh City is preparing to issue municipal and project bonds through the Vietnam International Financial Center (VIFC). According to VnExpress International, the city's People's Council approved these financing mechanisms at a special session on October 30, following a proposal from the municipal People's Committee.

A flexible issuance mechanism

Bonds may be denominated in VND or freely convertible foreign currencies; foreign-currency issues require consultation with the State Bank of Vietnam. Offerings can be public or private, via underwriting, auctions, agents or direct sales. VIFC infrastructure will handle registration, custody, settlement, transfer, listing and trading.

For domestic capital, the city is authorised to issue five types of bonds: local government, project, infrastructure construction, municipal and green bonds. Local government bonds must be in VND with a maturity of at least one year. Proceeds will go to projects in the medium-term public investment plan that have completed investment procedures, and the city budget guarantees repayment.

Scale of borrowing

The city plans to borrow up to VND49.291 trillion (US$1.9 billion) in 2026–2030 to finance its budget deficit, of which domestic borrowing, mainly local government bonds, is expected at VND31.732 trillion; the rest comes from loans on-lent by the central government. Separately, the priority PPP list for 2026–2031 comprises 90 projects with total investment of about VND1.27 quadrillion.

A first step for the VIFC

Nguyen Huu Huan, vice chairman of the executive agency of VIFC-HCMC, said the new resolution gives the city a legal basis for its first bond issue through the VIFC. Several pilot projects will be selected for the initial phase, targeting international investors and VIFC members. It is an opportunity for the city to diversify funding, reduce reliance on the budget and bring the financial center into real operation.

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