Announcing the 2013 Provincial Competitiveness Index

On the morning of March 20, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) held the Announcement Ceremony of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2013.

Attending the 2013 Provincial Competitiveness Index Announcement Ceremony were Dr. Vu Tien Loc - President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); Pham Thi Thu Hang - Secretary General of VCCI; Mr. David B. Shear - US Ambassador to Vietnam; Mr. Hugh Borrowman - Australian Ambassador to Vietnam; Mr. David Devine - Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam; Mr. Joakim Parker - Director of the United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam; Ms. Virginia Foote - Co-Chair of the Vietnam Business Forum - VBF; Mr. Jung In Kim - President of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam; Mr. David Whitehead - President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi; Ms. Sherry Boger - Representative of the US Chamber of Commerce, General Director of Intel Vietnam; Mr. Patrick J. Gilabert - Chief Representative of UNIDO in Vietnam; Mr. William Taylor - Deputy Chief Representative of the Asia Foundation; and representatives of the provinces.

Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Dr. Vu Tien Loc - Chairman of VCCI said that the 2013 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) report is the ninth year of assessing the quality of economic management of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam. The report is a collection of "voices" of 8,093 private enterprises in 63 provinces and cities across the country. At the same time, the report also reflects the feelings of 1,609 foreign-invested enterprises operating in Vietnam, contributing to completing the overall picture of the business environment in Vietnam from the perspective of an international investment destination.

“The 2013 PCI report is the first of many PCI reporting periods directly managed and implemented by VCCI, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This can be considered a symbol of success in development assistance activities when VCCI, a domestic partner, has full capacity to continue to bring this activity to a new level of success” – Dr. Loc affirmed.

Presenting the PCI 2013 results, Mr. Dau Anh Tuan - Deputy Head of the Legal Department said that with a score of over 66, Da Nang returned to the top of the PCI rankings. These are familiar faces in the leading group. According to Mr. Tuan, before 2011, this locality continuously won first or second place in the annual PCI rankings. After falling to the lowest position in PCI history (ranked 12/63) in 2012, the city's leaders pledged to learn and gain experience. This year, Da Nang has returned to the top of the rankings.

With a score of over 65, Thua Thien-Hue ranked second. Since 2007, Thua Thien-Hue has made strong commitments to improving its PCI score. Since 2007, the locality has issued seven planning documents, resolutions and three Provincial People's Committee Decisions on improving PCI.

PCI Ranking 2013

Other excellent provinces continue to be Dong Thap (63.35) and Kien Giang (63.55). Since the first PCI announcement, Dong Thap has never ranked below 11th, and achieved its highest achievement of 1st place in 2012. Kien Giang has also gradually climbed the rankings over many consecutive years (ranked 6th out of 63 last year). Quang Ninh (with an average ranking of 18th and a peak of 7th in 2010) and Ben Tre (average ranking of 16th and a peak of 7th in 2008) are also familiar faces in the PCI leading lineup.

The only surprise in the top group is Quang Ngai province, which ranked 7th in the rankings. This is a remarkable improvement for the province, which has usually been in the middle of the pack, with a score of 38.5 from 2006-2012 and never higher than 18th place. Like Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Ngai’s result comes from a commitment to improve the quality of provincial government administration, which is specified in official documents.

On the contrary, Binh Duong has significantly dropped in the rankings, falling to 30th place in the middle of the table. Lao Cai - the champion of the PCI rankings last year, also showed a decline in performance, falling to 17th place in the Fair operating group. And this year, Tuyen Quang is at the bottom of the table.

Also according to Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, this year, the Provincial Competitiveness Index 2013 has some important changes and adjustments in methodology to keep up with the changes in the business environment and institutional environment in Vietnam.

Specifically, this year, the research team used new data to build component indexes as well as eliminate inappropriate indicators. The report added a new index - "Equal competition" to reflect the business community's requirements for an equal business environment. "Despite changes in methodology, the Provincial Competitiveness Index Report still ensures a consistent and reasonable ranking, focusing on important management areas for businesses and in need of reform" - Mr. Tuan affirmed.

Also at the announcement ceremony, VCCI and the Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative Project (USAID/VNCI) presented awards from the business community to provinces and cities with outstanding achievements in PCI 2013.

Awarding prizes to 7 localities with the highest achievements in the PCI 2013 rankings

Mr. Van Huu Chien - Chairman of Da Nang City, the locality leading the PCI index in 2013, said that after falling to a record low in 2012, the city has joined in analyzing and clarifying the cause. Accordingly, many meetings and dialogues between the city chairman and businesses have taken place. In addition, the city has continuously reformed administrative procedures, issued timely plans, and actively supported businesses. "In the coming time, Da Nang commits to making better adjustments to create more favorable conditions for investors" - Mr. Chien affirmed.

After 9 years of conducting research and publishing the PCI Index, it shows that localities are increasingly interested in and highly appreciate the significance and impact of this index. Although still facing many difficulties, provinces and cities have had many different ways to improve the quality of management and improve their business environment. When the economic outlook is still unstable, realistic analysis of current challenges such as the CPI index is really valuable.

According to VCCI