Determinants of debt maturity structure: Evidence in Vietnam

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of debt maturity structure in listed small and medium enterprises in Vietnam from 2010 to 2019. Agency cost theory, signaling theory, tax-based theory, and matching theory are discussed as platform theories for determining the factors affecting corporate debt maturity structure. Based on those theories and previous research studies, combined with the two-step generalized method of moments regression model, the impact of lagged debt maturity structure, leverage ratio, profitability, firm size, growth opportunities, gross domestic product, and inflation has been demonstrated to be statistically significant at 5%. The contribution of this paper is to define the debt maturity structure of enterprises as dynamic, and the debt maturity structure is adjusted to the optimal structure at the speed of 46%.