Vietnam to gauge investor interest in sovereign bonds, government says

HANOI, Sept 19 (Reuters) — Vietnam's government is preparing to host foreign investors to gauge interest in its bonds, the finance ministry said. The planned road show is a regular annual event and is not meant to involve an immediate issuance of bonds, the ministry said in a statement issued late on Friday night. It did not say when the event would take place. "The event provides an opportunity for the debt management authority to gather market feedback and assess investors' level of interest in Vietnamese government bonds," the ministry said. However, it had not reached a final decision on whether to go ahead with the sale, as it was evaluating the costs of borrowing at a time of rising global yields. Vietnam's last dollar bond was issued in 2014. "This is an annual investor engagement program and does not involve an immediate offering or issuance of bonds," the ministry said. It added that "specific details, such as the size, tenor, or timing of any issuance, will be considered and decided by the government at an appro