Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Financehas sent documents to bond issuers, asking them to utilise resources to fulfilltheir commitments to investors, said Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi on solutions to difficulties in the corporate bond market at the Government's regular press conference in Hanoi on December 1.

The market has seen a contraction since only about331 trillion VND (13.5 billion USD) worth of bonds had been issued as of November25, down more than 31.6% year-on-year, the official pointed out.

Issuers’ ahead-of-schedule bond buyback alsoreflects negativity in the market, with some 161 trillion VND repurchasedas of November 25, exceeding last year’s amount by 14%.

Violations by some issuers and commercial banks have eroded the confidence in the market, and inaccurate rumours alsoadversely impacted the market, he said, noting that issuers are facing problemsin liquidity, capital and credit.

To stabilise and develop the bond market, theGovernment has issued a decree on enhancing publicity and transparency of themarket, handling problems and protecting rights and interests of investors, Chisaid.

The Government has also ordered a review and necessarysupplements to deal with changes in the market.

Minister Ho Duc Phoc on November 23 had a workingsession with 37 bond-issueing firms and nearly 10 securitiescompanies, during which participants sought solutions to restore the faith,remove liquidity difficulties, and consolidate the legal framework, according toChi.

The official affirmed that the businesses thatviolate laws will be handled strictly to ensure legal rights and interests ofinvestors under any circumstances.

Deputy Minister ofConstruction Nguyen Van Sinh briefed participants on the performance of a working group established under the Prime Minister’s decision to deal withobstacles facing enterprises in the real estate market so as to ensure itsstable and healthy development.

The group gathers representatives from theMinistries of Construction, Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, andPublic Security, and the State Bank of Vietnam.

Through working sessions with localities andbusinesses, the group has identified a number of issues regarding institutions,especially legal regulations on land allocation, land use purpose conversion,land auction, and land project bidding, among others.

It has urged localities, including Hanoi and Ho ChiMinh City, to deal with the problems within their capacity.

In this regard, Minister-Chairman of the GovernmentOffice Tran Van Son noted that the biggest problems lies in procedures in landand credit, saying reviewing market segments with a focus on commercial andsocial housing should be done first./.