The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) launched the Bloomfield Private Index (BPI) alongside the upgraded PCI 2.0 framework, at a ceremony in Hanoi on May 15.

The move is being viewed as a significant shift in how Vietnam evaluates local economic growth, as the private sector is increasingly identified as a key driver of the national economy.

From measuring governance to measuring real business performance

While the PCI has traditionally focused on measuring the quality of the business environment and the governance capacity of local authorities, the BPI is designed to evaluate actual market outcomes, in other words, how businesses truly perform within that environment.

The new index consists of 23 criteria grouped around two major dimensions: private sector development and innovation capacity. Beyond measuring business size or revenue growth potential, the BPI also reflects levels of technological investment, product innovation and participation in value chains among local enterprises.

Pilot results for 2025 showed Ho Chi Minh City led the country with a score of 5.67 points, followed by Hanoi and Quang Ninh.

According to the VCCI, the rankings are not simply a reflection of economic scale, but rather the ability of localities to create environments where private enterprises can operate effectively and adapt to new growth demands.

One of the report’s most notable findings is the time-linked relationship between governance quality and private sector performance. Data analysis indicated that provinces with stronger governance quality in 2022 generally recorded higher private sector efficiency by 2025.

According to VCCI Chairman Ho Sy Hung, this suggests that institutional reforms often require a lag of around three years before generating visible impacts on business activity. He described the finding as an important basis for sustaining long-term reform programmes rather than expecting immediate results.

Growth momentum and structural bottlenecks for private sector

The report also highlighted the dual reality currently facing Vietnam’s private economy.

On the one hand, the business sector is showing signs of strong recovery following the prolonged difficulties of 2023 and 2024. Nearly 300,000 businesses entered the market this year, up more than 27% compared with the previous year, while 85.7% of surveyed enterprises reported maintaining or expanding operations.

On the other hand, longstanding bottlenecks remain unresolved. More than 60% of businesses reported difficulties in finding customers, a sharp increase from previous years. Access to capital also remains a major challenge, with many enterprises saying it is nearly impossible to secure loans without collateral assets.

The report further revealed the growing dependence of businesses on social media platforms to track draft policies and legal changes, highlighting ongoing concerns regarding transparency and predictability within the business environment.

Meanwhile, innovation capacity continues to represent a major gap between Vietnamese enterprises and regional peers. Only 8.8% of businesses reported engaging in product or service innovation, significantly lower than levels seen in many Southeast Asian economies.

From administrative control to enabling growth

Alongside the BPI, the VCCI also introduced PCI 2.0, featuring a new structure comprising nine component index groups and 98 evaluation criteria.

Rather than continuing to publish a single comprehensive ranking, PCI 2025 shifts toward governance quality groupings designed to better reflect differences among localities during Vietnam’s ongoing administrative restructuring process.

The five best-performing localities were identified as Bac Ninh, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Phu Tho and Quang Ninh.

The VCCI reported, the common strength shared by these localities is not a single advantage, but their ability to maintain balanced governance structures, from reducing administrative costs and improving transparency to strengthening the enabling role of government.

Behind the methodological changes lies a broader transformation in Vietnam’s development thinking.

As the country targets two million businesses by 2030, reform priorities are expected to move beyond simply cutting administrative procedures toward building genuine competitive capacity for the private sector.

Under this new approach, the key issue is no longer merely how many support policies local authorities introduce, but how effectively those policies help create businesses capable of growth, innovation and long-term sustainability in the market.

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