Vietnam’s stock market watchdog on Monday called off nine separate bond issuances totalling about $439 million in value by three companies under Tan Hoang Minh Group due to its provision of “untrue information”.
The State Securities Commission stated it has cancelled the nine bond issues worth VND10,030 billion from July 2021 to March 2022 by Viet Star Real Estate Investment Ltd, Winter Palace JSC, and Soleil Hotel Services and Investment JSC.
The three firms had “the act of publicizing untrue information, concealing information in separate bond issuances," the regulator said. Organizations having taken up depository and registration for the bonds have to terminate transfers of the bonds.
Tan Hoang Minh recently triggered enormous controversy when its subsidiary Viet Star won an auction, which allowed it to acquire a prime plot of land in the Thu Thiem new urban area in Ho Chi Minh City.
The winning price was VND24,500 billion ($1.07 billion), or VND2.45 billion ($107,000) per square meter, which was unbelievably high that many people doubt that the group did so in order to have larger proceeds from its bond issuances, or be able to borrow bigger loans given the huge collateral value, or inflate the price of the land surrounding that plot.
Tan Hoang Minh later decided to abandon the auction, which meant it lost nearly VND588.5 billion ($25.74 million) in deposit.
In a press release, on Tuesday Tan Hoang Minh claimed its bond issues were done legally and by prestigious securitities companies and banks.
Also on Monday, police arrested Trinh Thi Minh Hue for allegations of stock market manipulation. Her arrest came a few day after the arrest of her older brother Trinh Van Quyet, Chairman of developer FLC Group, for alleged market manipulation and hiding information. She is part of the FLC accounting team.
The Vietnamese government last week ordered relevant ministries and government agencies to take measures to ensure the securities market operates in a stable, safe, smooth, and transparent manner and develops sustainably.
Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai requested strict punishments against any violations. The Finance Minister and Chairman of the State Securities Commission were required to thoroughly supervise market movements to timely work out management solutions to avoid risks and losses.
The agencies must actively provide information, come up with solutions to stabilize the psychology of domestic and foreign investors, and protect investors’ legitimate interests, he noted.