Enhancing competitiveness towards green and sustainable development

BHG - Recent efforts to improve the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and the Provincial Green Index (PGI) reflect the strong determination of the provincial Party committees and authorities in promoting administrative reforms, enhancing economic governance, and fostering sustainable development.

Production aligned with environmental landscape protection – Viet Shan Tea Co., Ltd. (Hoang Su Phi) contributes to realising the province’s green growth objectives

According to the latest announcement by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the province’s PCI score reached 66.71 points, an increase of 4.86 points compared to 2023. Although it has yet to enter the top 30 leading localities, the score improvement indicates a positive shift in the investment and business environment. Out of the 10 PCI sub-indices, five recorded increases. Notably, the "Entry Costs" index scored 8.22 points, reflecting increasingly streamlined and transparent business registration procedures. The "Business Support Services" index also saw clear progress, especially in workforce training, with the rate of vocationally trained workers rising to 65.39%.

As for the PGI, this is the second year VCCI has released the index to assess environmental friendliness in economic governance. The province's PGI score reached 23.84 points, up by 3.39 points from the previous year, showing important progress in environmental management and a shift towards green, sustainable growth. Among the components, compliance with minimum environmental standards achieved the highest score, indicating growing corporate adherence to environmental regulations.

However, alongside these positive developments, several challenges remain. Five key PCI sub-indices—land access, time costs, informal charges, government dynamism, and fair competition—have not improved and, in some cases, have declined. Issues, such as slow land-related procedures, overlapping inspections, bureaucratic hurdles, and unofficial payments, undermine business confidence. For the PGI, low scores in pollution reduction and climate change mitigation reveal inefficiencies in environmental policy enforcement.

To address these issues, the province is implementing comprehensive reform measures, including streamlining administrative procedures, expanding online public services, enhancing transparency, and strictly addressing corruption and harassment. At the same time, it is working to strengthen environmental governance, encourage the adoption of clean technologies, and improve environmental monitoring.

The province’s improved PCI and PGI scores again underscore its strong commitment to administrative reform, laying the foundation for fast, green, and sustainable economic development in the years to come.

THU PHUONG