On May 9th, U.S. Ambassador Knapper headlined the launch of the 2023 national Provincial Competitiveness and Provincial Green Indexes (PCI/PGI). The 2023 PCI/PGI report was developed from responses from over 10,000 firms, including domestic businesses and foreign-invested enterprises operating in Vietnam.
This year the PCI highlighted increasing provincial support for reducing red-tape, petty corruption, and developing pro-business policies. The PGI report celebrates and promotes environmentally friendly regulatory reforms and investment in provinces which align environmental protection with economic growth. The PGI report indicates that provinces are facing many challenges in implementing local environmental initiatives due, in part, to a lack of resources and expertise. Provinces finishing in the top three for the PCI were Quang Ninh, Long An, and Hai Phong, while the top-ranked PGI provinces were Quang Ninh, Da Nang, and Dong Nai.
USAID has been supporting the PCI since its inception in 2005 and is building on the success of the PCI—which has contributed to significant improvements in Vietnam’s business enabling environment and become a go-to resource for investors—with the recent launch of the PGI. Vice President Kamala Harris first announced USAID’s support for developing a Green Index to rally the private sector to climate action during her 2021 trip to Vietnam.
