Vinashin asks to write off 90% of bond debt
Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) has requested its local currency bondholders to write off up to 90% of the money it owes, according to a bondholder, Seatrade Asia online reports. State-owned Vinashin's financial difficulties have triggered the move as the shipbuilder defaulted on loan payments in April, admitting it is unable to make any payments until 2015 at the earliest, Bloomberg quoted Pham Viet Bac, general director of Sabeco Fund Management. The Ho Chi Minh City-based fund manager holds Dong 30bn ($1.5m) of Vinashin bonds. Vinashin, troubled by more than $4bn of debt, failed to pay a 9% coupon due on 13 April on a Dong 3trn 10-year bond issued in 2007. It has also asked foreign lenders for a one-year extension after missing a $60m principal payment in December for a $600m loan.
