Vietnam’s bonds gain as central bank adds funds; dong declines

Vietnam’s bonds rose for the first time in a week on Tuesday after the central bank added funds to the financial system, raising speculation lenders will have more cash to invest in debt. The dong fell.

The State Bank of Vietnam has since Oct. 19 conducted two auctions of securities per day to pump in cash to the system instead of one previously, according to daily statements issued by the central bank. The monetary authority offers to buy government debt from banks with an agreement to sell them back at a future time and date in return for paying interest.

“Banks’ liquidity has improved after the central bank injected more money,” said Pham Minh Hoang, a fixed-income trader at Hanoi-based Commercial Joint-Stock Bank. “Interest rates for one-week loans are now around 15 percent, down from between 18 percent and 19 percent last week.”

The yield on the benchmark five-year note declined four basis point, or 0.04 percentage point, to 12.44 percent, according to a daily fixing from banks compiled by Bloomberg.

The dong weakened 0.1 percent to 20,976 per dollar as of 4 p.m. in Hanoi Tuesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank fixed the reference rate at 20,748, unchanged from Oct. 21, according to its website. The currency is allowed to trade up to 1 percent on either side of the rate.