Quang Ninh province continued to be the 1st position in Viet Nam’s 2018 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI). This information was announced by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) at a ceremony held in Ha Noi on March 28.
This is the second time that Quang Ninh has topped this ranking with 70.36 points, followed by Dong Thap, Long An and Ben Tre provinces.
Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi cities, along with Danang, Binh Duong, Quang Nam, Vinh Long, etc. was named in the top ten list of the PCI 2018, which acknowledged efforts of the cities in improving administrative procedures.
The southern provinces of Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc and northern mountainous provinces of Bac Kan, Lai Chau had the lowest ranking.
The local business climate in 2018 improved considerably against 2017, with reduced unofficial costs and business conditions and better administrative reforms.
Of note, the PCI 2018 report reviews local private firms’ capability in accessing the global value chain, indicating that they confront a number of difficulties and barriers in participating.
Enterprises questioned in 2018 PCI-related surveys saw optimistic prospects for their businesses, said VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc, adding that 49 per cent of the surveyed private firms and 56 per cent of the FDI enterprises planned to expand their operations over the next two years.
Speaking at the ceremony, Quang Ninh’s Chairman Nguyen Duc Long stressed that the positive result shows the great efforts of Quang Ninh in improving the bussiness climate and raising the provincial competitive index. It also shows Quang Ninh’s big changes in its rapid development orientation. Quang Ninh set its six consecutive years in the top five and took the lead in terms of management quality.
“With the aim of becoming an industrial and service province with sustainable and environmentally friendly development, in 2019, Quang Ninh set the key task of "Improving service quality and efficiency".
With that topic, Quang Ninh is willing to welcome all the investors and start-up enterprises to the province. We will continue all our best to improve the bussiness climate and remain the first position in the PCI ranking”, added the Chairman of Quang Ninh.
The 2018 PCI report is the 14th iteration and is based on responses from 12,000 enterprises, including nearly 11,000 private enterprises from 20 cities and provinces nationwide.
By Hue Linh
