Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The 2019 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) reflects enterprises’ optimism about improvements of Vietnam’s business environment with unofficial costs reduced in multiple areas and increased satisfaction, according to Director of the PCI Programme Dau Anh Tuan.

Vietnam’s business environment has become increasingly transparent over the last 3 – 4 years, Tuan, also head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s Legal Department, told VietnamPlus. “It is very important for firms to be able to gain access to information needed for their operation, for example, from official websites of state agencies at provincial or municipal level.”

This year, the PCI survey recorded a further decline in Informal Charges, the third year in a row, he said, adding that, for many years this number was on the rise. “The Informal Charges, which had been so ‘common’ that up to 66 percent of respondents complained, was actually falling.”

The survey also indicated a lively wave of reforms among provincial administrations, given the average PCI reaching the highest over the last 15 years since the PCI was launched, Tuan noted.

He went on to say that however, there is plenty of room for Vietnam to improve its business environment. He suggested the government pay more attention to improving public administrative procedures regarding construction, land and the environment as there were a large number of respondents complaining about the handling of the procedures in these sectors.

If the administrative barriers are improved, business performances of firms would be better, creating positive effects on the economy, Tuan noted.

“With years of doing PCI surveys, we realised that the biggest conventional challenges to business activities of many enterprises in terms of public administrative procedures lie in the areas of land, taxation and fees, and social insurance.”

“However, we expect that Vietnam’s public administrative reforms will be more drastic in the future, as the government’s policies demonstrate its determination to make Vietnam among the top four ASEAN countries for ease of doing business.”

He continued to state that a new challenge has emerged and that even though the 2019 business climate has improved, the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to businesses across the country.

The 2019 CPI survey found that micro and small-sized enterprises were quite pessimistic about the future outlook of their businesses, he stated, adding that under the COVID-19’s impact, these companies would face greater difficulties in seeking new customers and gaining access to capital and markets, compared to last year.

Tuan urged for a change in providing access to information on public procurement in a bid to reduce enterprises’ complaints in informal charges. The recent graft in Hanoi’s purchases of medical supplies for COVID-19 response is a wakeup call for Vietnam to take stronger action in enhancing transparency in public procurement, he added.

Organiser honours Quang Ninh for topping the 2019 PCI. (Photo: VNA)

The PCI report has been published annually since 2005 by the VCCI and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to assess the ease of doing business, economic governance and administrative reform efforts by provincial and city governments to promote the development of the private sector.

Produced based on data collected from enterprises, the PCI has been viewed as ‘the common voice’ of the business community on the level of reform in various fields.

The 15th report was based on responses from more than 12,500 enterprises, including nearly 11,000 domestic private firms from 63 provinces and cities and nearly 1,600 foreign-invested enterprises in 21 provinces.

This is the first time it has analysed automation and digitisation in production and services by Vietnamese firms and forecast the impact of this trend on workers and employers in the time to come.

Quang Ninh topped the 2019 CPI among 63 provinces and cities nationwide for the third consecutive year.

The northern coastal province added more than 3 points from its score in 2018, reaching 73.4 on a 100-point scale.

🐲 It was followed by Dong Thap with 72.1 points and Vinh Long with 71.3 points while the rest of the top 10 including Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Ben Tre, Long An, Hanoi and Hai Phong./.