Nearly 11,000 firms respond to PCI 2017 survey

Danang was ranked first by firms for the fourth consecutive year

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will announce the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2017 tomorrow.

PCI Vietnam is designed to assess and rank the performance, capacity, and willingness of provincial governments to develop business-friendly regulatory environments for private sector development. This is the 13^th consecutive year VCCI publishes the index.

Director general of the VCCI Legal Department Dau Anh Tuan reported that this year the survey received responses from 10,245 private enterprises in 63 provinces and cities (including 2,003 enterprises which were established in 2016 and 2017) and 1,765 FDI firms from 47 foreign countries and territories in 21 cities and provinces.

Besides the PCI ranking, the 2017 version will assess the Vietnamese business environment in the eyes of foreign investors. They will assess administrative reforms, business advantages and disadvantages, and labor issues. Tuan revealed that the PCI report will reserve a chapter for business management quality.

Earlier in 2016, the central city of Danang dominated the PCI among the 63 cities and provinces in Vietnam for the seventh time, gaining the top score of 70.00. It was followed by Quang Ninh (65.50 points), Dong Thap (64.96), Binh Duong (63.57), and Lao Cai (62.76), while Hanoi ranked 14^th with 72.76 points. This will make it the fourth consecutive year that Danang ranks first.

The PCI 2016 sent out questionnaires to 11,600 enterprises, around 14 per cent of which were foreign invested enterprises in Vietnam.

Last year, the government issued Resolution No.19-2017/NQ- CP dated February 6, 2017 on continuing to implement main tasks and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in 2017 and orientations towards 2020.