Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang has held a meeting with Michael West, President of Moody’s Ratings, to discuss measures for improving Vietnam’s national credit rating, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) reported.
At the event, Thang underscored that in line with the Party and State’s policy on international integration and national prestige enhancement, the ministry, on behalf of the Government, has established and maintained cooperative relations with Moody’s since 2010.
To meet the requirements of a new development stage, the MoF has coordinated with relevant ministries and sectors to submit to the Government a scheme on improving the national credit rating through 2030, targeting a two-notch upgrade to Baa3 under Moody’s scale.
Regarding the domestic credit rating services market, the Government in 2024 promulgated a decree on credit rating services, creating a comprehensive legal foundation for the field. Five enterprises have so far been licensed to operate. The MoF is continuing to review and refine the legal framework, strengthen supervision, improve service quality, and promote communication efforts to encourage businesses and investors to use credit ratings in capital mobilisation and allocation, he noted.
Amid narrowing room for the monetary policy, the minister said the MoF is promoting the role of the fiscal policy, particularly through the development of the capital market, including stock and bond segments. Regulations governing corporate bond issuance, both public and private placements, are being aligned with international practices to facilitate medium- and long-term fundraising by financially sound enterprises with viable projects.
From 2026, private bond issuance is expected to become more vibrant and effective, serving as a crucial capital raising channel for the economy, Thang went on.
In September 2025, FTSE Russell upgraded Vietnam’s stock market from frontier to secondary emerging status. After 25 years of development, the market now features a full range of components, including stocks, bonds, derivatives, investment funds and new products.
This year's target is market capitalisation reaching at least 100% of GDP. In the first two months, capitalisation rose nearly 5% to over 84% of GDP, signalling positive momentum. Under the stock market development strategy to 2030, the market will be steered towards green and sustainable growth, and compliance with international standards.
The MoF is prioritising the development of the green bond market, encouraging the issuance of green government bonds, green local government bonds and green corporate bonds to mobilise resources for sustainable projects. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards are also being gradually applied to market operations, alongside the consideration of mechanisms to attract institutional and individual investors to green financial products, Thang added.
For his part, West expressed confidence in Vietnam’s long-term growth prospects, citing impressive GDP expansion, an active foreign policy, strong export competitiveness and stable FDI inflows.
Other members of the Moody’s Ratings delegation also recognised the relatively ample fiscal space, a solid debt repayment capacity, and a robust reform programme by the Vietnamese Government, saying these reforms will help improve institutional quality and strengthen the national creditworthiness.
Moody’s pledged continued support for Vietnam in developing its domestic capital and debt markets, perfecting infrastructure bond rating methodologies, building a second-party opinion framework for sustainable bonds aligned with Vietnam’s green taxonomy and international practices, and enhancing training and knowledge-sharing activities.
The agency suggested considering mandatory credit ratings for each private bond issuance to reflect the risk profile of individual debt instruments. It also recommended adjusting some regulations on conflicts of interest to ensure independence and transparency in rating activities.
Concluding the meeting, Thang affirmed that the MoF will fully take on board Moody’s recommendations and continue refining policies in line with international standards to ensure effective risk management and foster a transparent, safe and sustainable capital market.
He expressed his belief that cooperation between the MoF and Moody’s will be reinforced, practically contributing to the efficient mobilisation and allocation of resources for Vietnam's socio-economic development./.
VNA
