(VOVworld)-Lao Cai and Bac Ninh have become the first northern provinces to top the rankings of Vietnam’s annual Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) followed by Mekong Delta’s Long An province.

Lao Cai province tops the PCI list

These provinces invested considerably to improve governance, leading to gradual improvements in their PCI scores over time. The rankings were released at the launching ceremony of Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index 2011 in Hanoi on Thursday. With the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and jointly implemented by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the USAID’s Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (USAID/VNCI) since 2005, the PCI is the most comprehensive annual survey of local firms in Vietnam about provincial business environment in Vietnam. The PCI 2011 surveyed almost 7,000 Vietnamese businesses across all 63 cities and provinces. Mr. Francis Donovan is Director of USAID. “PCI is a very interesting assessment survey. Again, it’s once more partnership between VCCI and USAID to help show provinces what perceptions are of business community. So, like all PCI before, it does again this year. It shows provinces where they are strong, where they may be weak and how they may take some actions to attract investment”, said Mr Donavan.