Why TCBS Turns Down Some Corporate Bond Advisory Mandates
TCBS Chairman Nguyễn Xuân Minh says the company turns down bond issuance advisory mandates when it cannot adequately assess a firm's finances and cash flows. TCBS held a 37% share of the non-bank corporate bond issuance advisory market in 2025. Research on overdue bond payments also highlights cash flow and liquidity risks.
Nguyễn Xuân Minh, chairman of Techcom Securities (TCBS), said companies have strong financing needs, but TCBS has turned down numerous requests for bond issuance advisory services. Beyond assessing an issuer's ability to raise funds, the company considers the risks faced by investors who buy the bonds. It will not take on a mandate without a clear understanding of the company's financial condition.
When assessing issuers, TCBS analyzes cash flows across the entire corporate group, rather than looking only at the project that will directly use the proceeds. Nguyễn Xuân Minh said TCBS can more readily understand the operations and cash flows of companies with longstanding business relationships with Techcombank. For companies with no existing relationship, TCBS takes time to investigate before deciding whether to provide issuance advisory services.
Nguyễn Xuân Minh, chairman of TCBS.（VietVance）
Techcombank owns nearly 80% of TCBS. According to HDS Research's 2025 bond market report, TCBS advised on the issuance of 80.892 trillion Vietnamese dong in non-bank corporate bonds that year, accounting for 37% of the total value of such issuances. Nguyễn Xuân Minh said the company had a screening process in place before the bond market turmoil of 2022. That year, individual investors stopped buying bonds, bringing its advisory and distribution business almost to a standstill.
Credit rating agency VIS Rating analyzed 182 companies that had made overdue bond payments. Fewer than 25% had leverage ratios above five times or negative equity, but 90% generated insufficient operating cash flow to pay periodic interest or lacked the liquidity to repay principal when due. VIS Rating therefore recommends that investors assessing corporate bonds also examine the purpose of the issuance, the issuer's ability to generate cash flow, and the extent to which collateral or third-party payment guarantees reduce repayment risk.
Source: VietVance
