PCI 2024 Marks 20 Years of Improving the Quality of Provincial Economic Management

Over the past two decades, PCI has become a trusted tool to promote improvements in the business environment and enhance the competitiveness of localities. In the photo: Production activities at the Western Food Processing Export Joint Stock Company (Westfood).

The PCI 2024 report is published in the context of Vietnam entering a period of strong transformation with the aspiration of GDP growth of 8% by 2025 and reaching double digits in the following years. This goal requires high determination in improving the institutional foundation, enhancing the quality of management and creating a favorable, efficient and transparent business environment. In that context, PCI continues to act as a mirror reflecting the management reality in provinces and cities, helping localities identify strengths and weaknesses and thereby have appropriate improvement directions.

Mr. Pham Tan Cong, Chairman of VCCI, commented: PCI 2024 shows a positive picture of the quality of economic management at the provincial level. This is not only an assessment tool but also a driving force for localities to compete fairly and learn from each other in the process of improving the investment and business environment. This year's survey was conducted with responses from nearly 11,000 enterprises, including domestic private enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises. Enterprises continue to show confidence in local governments, especially in areas such as information transparency, labor quality and online administrative procedure reform. In particular, PCI 2024 expands the assessment related to environmental management and promoting green investment, contributing to recommending localities towards green growth and sustainable development.

According to the results, the PCI 2024 component indices recorded a significant improvement, with the market entry index increasing from 7.31 points in 2023 to 7.72 points in 2024, thanks to the shortening of business licensing time and digitalization of registration processes. Transparency reached 6.51 points, up 0.41 points compared to 2023. The informal cost index decreased from 7.08 points in 2023 to 6.77 points in 2024. Labor training quality also improved, with 68% of businesses satisfied with local labor skills, up from 63% in 2023.

The median PCI score in 2024 reached 67.67 points, up 1 point from the previous year and the eighth consecutive year exceeding the 60-point mark. Notably, the core PCI index (an index reflecting the quality of core economic management) reached 68.18 points, continuing to improve continuously since 2016. This is the result of the persistence and perseverance of many localities in reform and active supervision from the business community.

Hai Phong City rose to the top of the PCI rankings in 2024, with 74.84 points. Next is Quang Ninh, which fell from the No. 1 position in 2023 to the No. 2 position in 2024 with 73.2 points. In addition, the top 5 in the PCI report in 2024 also includes the following localities: Long An 72.64 points, Bac Giang 71.24 points and Ba Ria - Vung Tau 71.17 points. The Top 30 PCI 2024 includes the localities of Thua Thien Hue, Hau Giang, Phu Tho, Dong Thap, Hung Yen, Can Tho, Ben Tre, Ninh Thuan... In particular, Can Tho City, from the 14th position in 2023, has risen 3 places, ranking 11th in PCI in 2024, with 70.01 points. In which, the scores of the component indexes are as follows: market entry 6.9 points, up 0.24 points compared to 2023; transparency 7.05 points, up 0.28 points; time costs 7.23 points, down 1.28 points; informal costs 7.2 points, down 0.12 points; fair competition 6.54 points, up 0.04 points; business support policies 7.67 points, up 1.39 points...

In addition to the "bright spots", the report also shows that there are shortcomings that need attention, such as access to land is still a major obstacle, the cost of legal compliance is still high, and the dynamism of local authorities in some places shows signs of decline. Mr. Dau Anh Tuan, Deputy General Secretary of VCCI, Director of the PCI Project, said: The quality of administrative procedure processing shows signs of slowing down when nearly 24% of businesses said that they had to spend more than 10% of their time to learn and implement legal regulations, an increase of 4% compared to the level of 20% in the period of 2022-2023. 22% of businesses reported duplication of inspection content, an increase of 8.5% compared to the previous year. Access to credit, finding customers, and market fluctuations have been major difficulties for businesses for many years...

According to some economic experts, the biggest challenge in institutional reform and improving the business environment is changing the mindset and approach of local leaders, officials and civil servants. In fact, in PCI 2024, the pioneering dynamism of the government apparatus in some localities showed signs of decline when the average score of this component index reached 6.29 points, significantly lower than the level of 6.68 points in 2023... Therefore, to create the driving force to improve the investment and business environment, creating a premise for economic growth, the core issue is the mindset, determination, dynamism, openness and listening spirit of local government leaders.

According to Mr. Pham Tan Cong, PCI is not simply a ranking. It is an annual dialogue between the business community and local authorities, where businesses can speak frankly from practice, where the authorities listen and act. PCI 2024 will be the final PCI report to fully assess 63 provinces and cities before the process of merging provincial-level administrative units according to Resolution No. 60-NQ/TW of the Party Central Committee is implemented from 2025. The process of streamlining the apparatus and restructuring the local government system poses an urgent requirement to maintain and improve the quality of governance on a larger, more complex scale. In that context, PCI is not only an assessment tool, but also an important source of reference data to ensure the merger process takes place smoothly, effectively and towards the goal of harmonious and sustainable development between regions.

Article and photos: MY THANH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/pci-2024-danh-dau-cot-moc-20-nam-nang-chat-luong-dieu-hanh-kinh-te-cap-tinh-a186428.html