FiinGroup to officially launch its Credit Rating Service on 5 June 2020

HANOI - FiinGroup Joint Stock Company (“Company” or “FiinGroup”) has announced official launch of its Credit Rating Agency under a brand named Fiin Ratings from 5 June 2020.

The Company was awarded a license from the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam to operate as the second Credit Rating Agency on 20 March 2020. The license was granted under the Decree 88/2014/ND-CP dated 26 September 2015 issued by the Government governing the credit rating service and the Decision 507/QD-TTg dated 17 April 2015 by Prime Minister approving the development plan for Credit Rating Agency service by 2020 and vision till 2030.

Vietnam corporate bond market has gained a significant development in recent years. The size of corporate bond market is accounting for 10.28% of Vietnam’s 2019 GDP by the end of March 2020 with participation from not only institutional investors but also retail investors as well.

Mobilising medium and long-term sources of financing for corporate growth is very important in Vietnam when they mainly rely on banking credits and share issues on stock market. Given the duration mismatch issue i.e. using short-term funds for medium and long term lending by Vietnamese banks and the equity sales is not always a feasible option for many corporates, fund raising from bond market becomes a popular choice for large corporates and medium-size enterprises in Vietnam.

However, market infrastructure is not in full operation yet, including the operation of secondary market for bond issue, standardising information disclosures, investor education and especially having such instruments rated by an independent credit rating agency.   

It is different from stock investors; bond investors shall be normally entitled to receive an equal instalment of interest income and principal repayments over a period of time which are relatively long in several years. Hence, having an independent credit rating opinion about such expected cash flows and the issuer’s creditworthiness will be essential for investors in evaluating the investment opportunity. For issuers, an independent rating opinion will be useful for determining the cost of funds for the instrument and for approaching a wider investor and creditor base for their financing decisions.

“Having the license is just a starting point for us. Leveraging on our strength in information business over 12 years and with over two years of preparation of rating methodologies, rating scorecard each of 50 key sectors in Vietnam, benchmark data models and qualified personnel, we are now very confident to provide this service to both issuers and investors. We also wish to set a foundation for this industry in Vietnam” said Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, FiinGroup CEO.

About Fiin Ratings

• Name of license holder: FiinGroup Joint Stock Company
• Head office address: 10 floor, PeakView Tower, 36 Hoang Cau, O Cho Dua ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi, Vietnam
• Website: https://fiingroup.vn/FiinRating
• Credit Rating Agency license: No 02/GCN-DVXHTN issued by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam on March 20^th, 2020
• Paid-in charter capital: 25 billion Vietnamese dong
• List of shareholders having more than 5% ownership (as of April 30^th, 2020):
  • Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuan: occupying 540,398 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 21.616%
  • NIKKEI Inc. (Japan): occupying 438,858 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 17.554%
  • QUICK Corp. (Japan, a subsidiary of NIKKEI): occupying 438,858 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 17.554%
  • Mr. Bolat Duisenov: occupying 350,091 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 14.004%
  • Mr. Nguyen Huu Hieu: occupying 349,374 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 13.975%
  • Mr. Mac Quang Huy: occupying 157,421 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 6.297%
  • Viaduct Holdings Ltd: occupying 150,000 ordinary shares, in equivalent to 6.000%
• Legal representative: Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuan - CEO
• Expected date of official launch: June 5^th, 2020

About FiinGroup

FiinGroup (previously StoxPlus) is Vietnam’s pioneer and leading provider of financial data, business information, industry research and other data-driven analytics services. Established in March 2008 and entered into its strategic capital and business alliance with Nikkei Inc. (Japan) since September 2014, FiinGroup is the major service provider to most of local and foreign financial institutions through subscription-based platforms, business and industry research services. FiinGroup currently has more than 100 staffs working at Hanoi Head Office and HCMC Branch.

Website: https://fiingroup.vn/

For enquiries:

Please contact Ms. Nguyen Minh Hien, PR & Marketing Officer at hien.nguyenminh@fiingroup.vn or contact number (+84) 358 048 193.