Vietnam highway builder fails to sell dong bonds

HANOI, June 23 - State-run Vietnam Expressway Corporation has failed for the third time this month to raise 500 billion dong ($28 million) via corporate bonds because bidders sought yields above the ceiling the firm could accept.

The Hanoi stock market said two bidders sought to buy 150 billion dong worth of three-year bonds at 10 percent as part of the 300 billion dong bond on offer at the auction on Tuesday, but the issuer would only accept bids of 9.3 percent or less.

At the bidding for 200 billion dong of two-year debt, one bidder sought to buy 100 billion dong at 11.5 percent, also higher than the ceiling for that maturity of 9.4 percent, the exchange said in a statement.

The state-run highway builder had planned to raise the money to fund the construction of a highway linking Hanoi and the northern province of Lao Cai bordering China.

It failed to sell similar bonds on June 9 and June 17 for the same reason.

In a separate statement, the Hanoi exchange said it would auction two-year and three-year bonds for the same company to raise 500 billion dong on June 30. ($1=17,760 dong)