Vincom Joint Stock Co’s bond offering has been awarded “Debt & Equity Linked Deal of the Year” at the IFLR Asia Awards 2010. Shearman & Sterling advised Credit Suisse as sole bookrunner in connection with the US$100 million offering.

The deal is Vietnam’s first overseas sale of convertible bonds and is also the first international capital raising from any Vietnamese issuer since a US$750 million sovereign bond in 2005 (on which Shearman & Sterling also advised).

Partner Matthew Bersani (Hong Kong-Capital Markets) led the team, working with partner Mei Lian (London-Finance) and associates Mara Folz (Singapore-Capital Markets), Tracy Li (Hong Kong-Capital Markets), Daryl Chew (Singapore-International Arbitration), John Delamere (London-Finance), Nicola Liddle-Peters (London-Finance) and legal assistant Derek Perriam (Singapore-Capital Markets).

Commenting on the deal, Matthew Bersani said: “There was no clear legal structure for a convertible bond in Vietnam, no prior tested approval track, no timeline for receipt of approvals, and no clarity on any of the key issues related to bond conversion mechanics, which are crucial for a convertible bond … it was an unbelievably difficult process.”