Hoa Sen Group (HSG) announced a plan to issue bonds on April 3, 2019, but later cancelled the plan and has not issued any bonds so far.

The steel company made the clarification in its official dispatches sent to the State Securities Committee and the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, quashing a recent rumour about its issuance of bonds.

A document of unknown origin went viral on April 8, describing the authorities' plan to inspect bond-issuing activities of several big names, including Hoa Sen Group.

The document has sparked rumours that HSG bonds would be under investigation, causing panic selling of HSG stocks.

In the dispatches, HSG claimed that the rumour was completely unfounded since it has not issued any bonds to date.

The group supported the claim by showing a no bond balance in the accounting item Borrowings and Lease Liabilities of its 2020-21 audited financial report.

HSG also confirmed that inspectors from the Ministry of Finance visited the group from March 17 to 19 to gather financial data.

However, the visit was not an investigation but a regular financial inspection conducted in accordance with Decision 2068 issued by the Minister of Finance.

The group said it submitted all required financial data and information to the inspectors on 19 March and had not received any additional requests.

HSG claimed that it had always been strictly compliant with all regulations, notably in tax, accounting and securities rules.

In the morning session on April 12, HSG stocks ended at VND33,400 apiece (US$1.46), losing 5.81 per cent in one week. — VNS