Vietnam will auction one billion U.S. dollar government bonds on the international bond market this year, according to the state bank of Vietnam on Tuesday.
The bonds will be sold to foreign investors in China's Hong Kong, London, Boston and New York, said the bank.
The Vietnam's Ministry of Finance will decide the terms and interest rates of auctioned bonds. The ministry also takes responsibility to define the prices of bonds, ensuring the interest rate of issues with maturities of ten years not exceeding seven percent.
Money mobilized from the auction will be used to help some state-owned companies carry out key refinery, hydropower and cargo ship projects. These companies include the National Oil and Gas Group, PetroVietnam, Vietnam National Shipping Lines, Song Da Corporation and the Vietnam Machinery Erection Corporation.
This is the second time that Vietnam auctions government bonds on the international bond market, according to the local newspaper Young People on Tuesday.
The first time was in October 2005 with ten-year government bonds worth 750 million U.S. dollars. The bonds were sold to yield 7.125 percent interest rate, said the newspaper.