Feb. 1 – The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative have recently released a report ranking the competitiveness of each province in the country in 2009.

The index is useful for investors looking at entering Vietnam because it gives  a comprehensive look of the country’s 63 provinces and more importantly gets into the details of why certain provinces have better economic growth than others.

The results of the report are based on information surveyed from 9,890 Vietnamese companies; providing a thorough analysis of economic governance and regulatory environment. It recommends that authorities improve transparency and labor quality in Vietnam’s provinces to encourage more investment and growth.

According to the report, businesses perceive that infrastructure quality in the country has improved. Danang and Binh Duong were named as the best places for good economic governance in the country. Moreover, businesses said that aspects such as entry costs, access and security of land, time costs, labor quality, and confidence in legal institutions showed signs of definitive improvement over the past year.

The report also mentioned aspects of doing business in the country that have declined namely transparency, informal charges, and the proactivity of local leaders.

A copy of the 111 page report can be downloaded here.