A garment factory in the Mekong Delta province of Hậu Giang. Delta localities have made great efforts to improve their business environment. — Photo courtesy of qdnd.vn

 HCM CITY — Localities in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta have made significant improvements to their economic governance and business environment over the years with their unceasing efforts, the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

Its vice president, Võ Tân Thành, told a seminar in Vĩnh Long Province on Monday that many localities in the region have been among the leaders in the country in economic governance.

The delta has thus been leading the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) from among the country’s six economic regions for many years now, and many of its sub-indicators, he added.

Its median PCI score has been on a sustained uptrend in recent years, rising in 2015-19 by 10 per cent, equivalent to 5.95 points, from 59 to 64.99 points.

There has been improvement in all the component indexes, showing it has made progress in all areas.

Out of the top 20 provinces and cities in the PCI rankings, the delta currently has five -- Đồng Tháp, Vĩnh Long, Bến Tre, and Long An provinces and Cần Thơ City.

Đồng Tháp has been in second position out of the country’s 63 provinces and cities for three consecutive years behind Quảng Ninh.

Vĩnh Long has made great strides and is now in the top five.

Chairman of the Vĩnh Long Province People’s Committee, Lữ Quang Ngời, said for the first time in five years, the province’s score topped 70 last year and it improved its scores in nine of 10 indexes from 2018, including access to land, time costs of regulatory compliance and informal charges.

More and more domestic and foreign investors are using PCI when considering making or expanding investments in a certain city or province, he added.

Đậu Anh Tuấn, head of the VCCI’s legal division and director of the PCI Project, said delta localities now would need to focus on improving certain aspects to further rise in the PCI such as improving entry costs, especially post-business registration costs, and reducing business inspections.

They also need to encourage the development of business support services, and improve vocational training and job services, he added.

Organised by VCCI and the Vĩnh Long People’s Committee, the seminar served as a platform for provinces with high PCI scores to share their lessons and experiences in improving the business environment and thereby their PCI scores. — VNS