The bond investment funds in Vietnam faced significant fluctuations throughout 2024, reflecting both challenges and opportunities within the financial sector. With total assets surpassing 25 trillion VND, the industry spotlighted contrasting performances among the key players, driven predominantly by the Techcom Bond Fund (TCBF).
According to data from various evaluations, the total revenue for 27 notable funds involved with corporate bond investments reached 1.75 trillion VND, representing a 38% decrease from previous results. The after-tax profit fell almost 43%, landing at nearly 1.5 trillion VND. Notably, if TCBF's performance is excluded, the combined after-tax profit for the other funds actually increased by 39%, totaling 723 billion VND. This discrepancy highlights the significant role TCBF plays within the market, which experienced its profit shrinking by 63% compared to 2023. Despite these challenges, TCBF maintained its position as the market leader with after-tax profits reaching 776 billion VND.
While TCBF struggled, several funds achieved impressive gains. The absolute leaders included the VNDCF, which recorded astonishing growth of 260%, and the DCIP with 154%. Other commendable performers were ABBF, which rose 140% and DCBF with 134% growth. This mixed bag of results points to varying management strategies and market conditions affecting profitability across the sector.
By December 31, 2024, the total assets of all funds combined had reached over 25.2 trillion VND, marking it 1.5 times larger than at the beginning of the year. TCBF alone accounted for more than 55% of this total, boasting nearly 14.1 trillion VND—a 5.6-fold increase since January 2024. Other notable funds such as ABBF, VFF, DCBF, and DCIP also registered substantial asset growth, with DCBF and VFF surging by 3.4 times and 2.2 times, respectively. Meanwhile, the VCAM-NH VABF fund faced the steepest decline, with assets diminishing by 56% to around 72 billion VND.
The Net Asset Value per Certificate of Fund (NAV/ccq) also saw increases across the board. Leading this metric was the Eastspring Investments Vietnam Dynamic Fund (ENF) with NAV/ccq set at 37,191 VND—an 18% rise since the year’s beginning. This uptick points to improving market valuations or effective management strategies, contrasting the challenges faced by others.
Examining the corporate bond market’s overall health contextualizes this variability. The corporate bonds outstanding reached 1.2 million trillion VND by the end of 2024, having increased by 0.6% since the conclusion of 2023. Notably, the value of newly issued bonds attained nearly 443.5 trillion VND, significantly exceeding the maturity of over 278.2 trillion VND. Intriguingly, privately issued bonds comprised about 92.6% of the total corporate bond operations.
Despite these promising statistics, caution is warranted as the ratio of outstanding debt reflected only 8.1% of the total credit outstanding by the end of 2024, subdued compared to the 8.9% noted at the end of 2023. Since achieving its peak of 17.1% relative to GDP back in 2020, the corporate bond market has seen its scale consistently decline, landing at 10.8% by the end of 2024.
A closer look at the portfolio compositions reveals strategic shifts among the funds. By 2024’s end, 13 of 27 funds allocated over 50% of their assets to corporate bonds, with VCAM-NH VABF at the forefront, boasting 96% of its assets tied to bonds. Other funds like the Mirae Asset Vietnam Flexible Bond Fund (MAFF) and VNDBF also recorded high allocations between 70 - 96%. Conversely, approximately 14 funds maintained less than half of their assets, directing more investments toward cash deposits or equities.
An interesting trend surfaced with TCBF, primarily devoted to bonds, observing its bond proportion decrease significantly over recent years—from nearly 96% at the end of 2022 to 51.39% by the conclusion of 2024.
Noteworthy corporate bonds held by various funds included those from prominent companies like CTCP Nông nghiệp BAF Việt Nam and the Vingroup ecosystem, among others.
These findings present a complex portrayal of Vietnam's bond investment funds, characterized by sharp fluctuations but also resilience. Amid shifting market dynamics, the path forward will likely require adaptability and strategic foresight to navigate the challenges and opportunities on the horizon.