Jan. 15 – Danang topped the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 2009 provincial competitiveness index (PCI) ranking followed by Binh Duong Province in the south.

This is the second consecutive year that Danang finished first place in the index. Vietnam’s northeast Lao Cai Province ranked higher than Vinh Phuc Province to be included in the top three localities with favorable business conditions.

On the other hand, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi fell in the PCI rankings with Ho Chi Minh City dropping by three place to 16th place and Hanoi sinking by two places to 33rd place.

The list shows the emergence of increasingly competitive destinations. Binh Dinh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Tien Giang and Bac Ninh climbed up the rankings to be included in the top 10 provinces in the country.

The top places showing marked improvement in their business environment were Ca Mau, Dien Bien and Long An. The chamber said overall there was improvement in the competitiveness of all localities since the number of localities rated under the “medium” and “low” groups dropped from 34 to 10 provinces.

The head of the Legal Department of VCCI and a member of the PCI survey team, Tran Huu Huynh, told Vietnam Net Bridge that transparency is considered the most important index that decides ranking.

The index weighed in the quality of the management work done by local authorities. Huynh said: “We do not care about the factors such as the geographical positions, infrastructure and market scale to rank localities.”

Danang is an important seaport in the central region and is the country’s fourth largest city.