Factors Influencing Corporate Debt Maturity: An Empirical Study of Listed Companies in Vietnam

The maturity structure of corporate debt is one of the significant financing choices that a firm must make simultaneously while deciding how to finance its operational and investment decisions. Even though the capital structure is one of the scrutinized topics of interest in the corporate finance literature, scarce studies have investigated corporate debt maturity, even less so in the context of emerging markets. The choice of a suitable debt maturity structure is exceptionally relevant for firms. It can enable them to avoid mismatch by aligning assets in line with liabilities, addressing agency-related problems, sidestep the ill effects of cost of capital, and signaling the firms' earning quality and value. The study investigates the firm-specific and macroeconomic determinants significant for the debt maturity structure of Vietnamese corporate firms. A sample of 722 non-financial firms listed on the Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi Stock Exchange in Vietnam from 2007 to 2018 was taken to test the hypothesis. The study's methods fixed effects panel data analysis provides empirical evidence that firm size, firms' quality, liquidity, leverage, asset maturity, tax impact, and macro variables are significantly related to the debt maturity structure.