Vietnam improves ranking in ease of doing business index and GCI 4.0

These are some of the positive indicators which reflect the results of the Government’s strong performance of institutions and policies to nurture economic development, said Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung. These comments were made on March 17 in Hanoi during a press conference which was held to announce an assessment report on administrative procedure compliance cost index (APCI).

In his address, Minister Dung pointed out four reform lessons taken from APCI 2020, stressing that the top priority of the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities is to promote the application of information technology and processing administrative procedures. Indeed, these changes should be done through electronic platforms as a means of saving costs for businesses.

These remarks were warmly welcomed by the business community as part of a growing trend to create optimal conditions for firms to participate in Industry 4.0 and the digital transformation process. These changes are being carried out whilst minimising negative, harassment, and risks of force majeure situations caused by natural disasters or epidemics that often arise in traditional methods.

Built on a standard cost model through surveys of enterprises based in 63 local cities and provinces since 2018 when it was initially released, the APCI annual report can be considered an important tool as it objectively reflects the level of administrative reform and improvements to the local business environment. In addition, it looks at the enforcement of policies and laws through analysing the costs enterprises must pay to conduct administrative procedures in accordance with the law.

Relevant lessons learned from APCI this year can all be placed in the context that the country must promote greater economic development, attract larger foreign investment inflows, and face significant challenges due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to realise the radical values from the reform.

Through the use of appropriate methodology and serious practices of the study team, the APCI 2020 is believed to help the Government, ministries, sectors, localities, and relevant agencies form an effective reference information channel to make appropriate decisions. These can serve to promote the goal of simplifying administrative procedures whilst improving the business investment environment as a means of facilitating the operations of firms moving forward.