The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), a joint report of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), that evaluates the competitiveness of Vietnam’s 63 provinces based on their level of business friendliness, economic governance and administrative reforms, has named Quang Ninh as the most competitive place in Vietnam for 2017. This year’s PCI report, the 13th report to date, based its findings on responses from more than 12,000 private companies in Vietnam. Out of this number, more than 10,200 companies were domestic, while 1,800 were foreign-invested.
Quang Ninh scored 70.7 points (on a 100 point scale), which allowed the northern province to beat now second-placed Da Nang (70.1 points). This year’s winner climbed the top of the index mainly due to its strong administrative reforms. One of the best example of the reforms outcome is that only 6% of surveyed companies from Quang Ninh waited longer than a month to process all necessary paperwork in order to receive the necessary operational licenses.
This year’s PCI report reveals strong and growing optimism among the private businesses, including both local and foreign-owned ones. 52% of surveyed domestic companies mentioned that they plan to grow their operations in the next two years (the highest level since 2011). On the other hand, only 8% of respondents plan to scale down or close their businesses. When it comes to foreign companies, more than 60% plan to expand their operations, which is the most optimistic figure since 2010.
According to the report, there are few reasons for such optimism, such as:
- Foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) reported significant improvements in regulations for market-entry procedures.
- Regulations concerning social insurance, taxes and labor for FIEs have been eased compared to previous years.
PCI 2017 ranking
1 — Quang Ninh (northern Vietnam)
2 — Da Nang (central Vietnam)
3 — Dong Thap (southern Vietnam)
4 — Long An (southern Vietnam)
5 — Ben Tre (southern Vietnam)
…..
8 — Ho Chi Minh City
…
13 — Hanoi
Other links:
PCI 2015 report by BDG Vietnam
