Quang Ninh ranked Vietnam's most competitive province in 2017

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Thursday revealed that Quang Ninh was the most competitive province in the country last year.

Quang Ninh climbed to the top of the Provincial Competitive Index with 70.7 points mainly thanks to its strong administrative reforms. Only 6 percent of surveyed enterprises had to wait for more than a month to complete all required paper work to get licenses required to operate in the province.

Da Nang, which dominated the ranking from 2013 to 2016, came second with 70.1 points, followed by Dong Thap (68.8) and Long An (66.7).

Ho Chi Minh City (65.2) ranked eighth, and Hanoi (64.71) ranked 13th.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the VCCI, said the 2017 PCI Report took into account significant reforms made by local governments across the country. Many areas had managed to remove obstacles facing businesses. Informal charges were on the decline, the business environment was more equal, and administrative procedures had been simplified.

“Positive improvements have been the dominant trend in Vietnam’s business environment for the past year,” he said.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the VCCI, speaks at the launch of the 2017 Provincial Competitiveness Index in Hanoi on March 22, 2018. Photo courtesy of VCCI

The 2017 PCI survey revealed an optimism among private businesses and foreign investors regarding their economic prospects. Fifty two percent of surveyed domestic firms said they planned to expand their operations in the next two years, the highest level since 2011, while only 8 percent planned to scale down or close. 

In the foreign sector, 60 percent of firms said they planned to expand their businesses in Vietnam.

However, the business community expects to see continued reforms in the business environment, particularly in the fields of tax, customs, inspections and social insurance, he said.

The PCI report has been produced annually since 2005 to assess the ease of doing business, economic governance and administrative reform efforts by provincial and city governments in Vietnam to promote the development of the private sector.

The 2017 PCI report was based on responses from 12,000 enterprises, including more than 10,200 private domestic firms and 1,800 foreign invested companies.