The PCI was initiated by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) as part of efforts to quantify subjective measures of business competiveness.
Matters pertaining to business environment, quality of economic management and administration reform are difficult to assess, but are highly important factors in measuring business performance.
VCCI President Vu Tien Loc noted Hanoi has gone to great lengths to improve its PCI.
Climbing up 18 notches demonstrates that the capital city is fully committed to implementing programmes to raise the index, and their highest accomplishments have been in human resource training and services support. |
Other indices which have witnessed dramatic increases are transparency and information accession, up 26 notches compared to 2012, ranking the capital 13th out of 63 provinces and cites.
Businesses report that they highly value information from the Hanoi Portal, leaping up 12 places to come in 4th out of all 63 provinces and cities.
PCI research group reports the overall market access cost index in 2013 was stable. The length of time required to obtain a land use rights certificate was cut from 30 days to 20 days, climbing up 43 notches to 4th position.
In addition, Hanoi’s other indicators are lower than the country’s average level, such as access to land, stability in land use, time spent on enforcing State regulations, informal costs, proactive municipal leadership and legal institutions.
Dau Anh Tuan, Head of the VCCI’s Legal Department, said if Hanoi further improves the quality of management and administration procedures, it will attract more investors, particularly those from the EU.
A locality has a high PCI when it has low market access costs, easy access to land, stable land use, transparent business environment, easy access to business information, low informal costs and high quality of support services, Tuan said.
Pham Van Khanh, Vice Director of the Municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the department granted 1,200 land use rights certificates last year, meeting 120% of the set target. It plans to hand out 2,000 such certificates this year and cut the licensing time to less than 20 days.
Currently, the city has detailed development zoning plans, making it easier for investors to follow and make a decision, and helping them feel secured about their investment.
Khanh revealed that the department regularly holds meetings and talks with businesses to timely address their concerns..
Vu Xuan Bach, Deputy Head of the Hanoi Taxation Department, said the department is streamlining tax declaration procedures, striving to shorten the period from the current 10 days to 6 or even 2 days.
It has eliminated 32 improper administration procedures and offered online services to support businesses.