Vingroup is in the early stages of planning a three-year note of up to about 400 billion won (US$292 million), said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. The size and details of the deal aren’t finalised and may change. Shinhan Securities Vietnam, KB Securities and Kiwoom Securities are working on the deal, the people said.

Vingroup is preparing to conduct a private placement of Korean won bonds as part of its efforts to diversify the group’s access to international sources of capital, an official at Vingroup said in response to a request for comment. The proceeds will be used for Vingroup’s general corporate financing needs, the official said. 

Shinhan Securities Vietnam and Kiwoom Securities confirmed their participation on the deal. A representative for KB Securities didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Vietnamese companies are turning more offshore for funding as the local economy expands at one of the fastest paces in Asia, with the government aiming to steer the country to high-income status by 2045. It would be a rare offering in the Korean won by an overseas corporate if the deal proceeds, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The board of directors of Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest publicly traded company, approved a bond sale of as much as 455 billion won in the second half of this year, according to a company statement last month. 

Earlier this year, Vingroup’s hospitality arm Vinpearl JSC secured a US$255 million private credit financing from investors including Singapore’s SeaTown Holdings International and the Oman Investment Authority.

In South Korea’s general corporate bond market, issuance has dropped nearly 30% to 28.7 trillion won from January through the end of July compared with a year earlier, according to data from the financial regulator. The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate for a second consecutive meeting to 3% last week, a level that’s still lower than rates in both Vietnam and the US.

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