The northern province of Quang Ninh continues to retain the top spot of Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2018 rankings which were jointly announced by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the US Agency for International Development on March 28.

Quang Ninh took the crown for a second consecutive year with 70.36 points out of 100 in the points scoring system. It was followed by three Mekong Delta provinces of Dong Thap, Long An and Ben Tre. Enterprises questioned in 2018 PCI-related surveys saw optimistic prospects for their businesses. 49 per cent of the surveyed private firms and 56 per cent of the FDI enterprises planned to expand their operations over the next two years. The local business climate in 2018 improved considerably against 2017, with reduced unofficial costs and business conditions and better administrative reforms.-VNA