For the third year running, Da Nang is the best place to do business in Vietnam.
According to the 2015 Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), a report compiled by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development, the central city scored 68.34 out of 100 points on a large-scale survey of both private local businesses and foreign companies operating in Vietnam.
The study ranked all 63 of Vietnam's provinces in terms of business friendliness, economic governance and administrative reform, according to Thanh Nien.
Experts attribute at least some of Da Nang's success to its Center for Public Administration, an outfit established in late 2014 which the PCI survey found to be “effective in saving time, effort and money for the people, businesses and public officials”. The report also noted Da Nang's improvement of online services at minimal cost to the city.
Dong Thap province came in second behind Da Nang at 66.39 points, while Quang Ninh took the third-place spot with 65.75 points. Saigon fell to sixth place, down two positions from last year, while Hanoi climbed from 26 to 24. Last in line were Lai Chau, Ha Giang and Dak Nong provinces.
Though the 2015 PCI considers the business climate and responses of 11,700 companies within Vietnam, the report does not take into account economic advantages or disadvantages based upon location, hence the rise of foreign-invested areas over smaller or less populated provinces.
In addition to these findings, the PCI also reported roughly half of Vietnam's foreign-invested companies opted to enter Vietnam over other nations within the region. While it bodes well for the country that such outside business is drawn to Vietnam, the number of nearby competitors – including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and China – highlight the need for good business practices in Vietnam in order to spur economic growth.
[Photo via Flickr user KnG Da Nang]
