Removing bottlenecks

Over the past two years, Bac Ninh Province has prioritised resolving difficulties faced by businesses in obtaining licences for the exploitation of minerals used as fill materials. Previously, the supply of fill soil met only around 30–50% of demand, causing many construction projects to proceed at a slow pace. Recognising this bottleneck, the province reduced the processing time for relevant procedures to approximately two-thirds of the previous timeframe.

According to Bui Quang Phat, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, many procedures relating to investment approval, land allocation and environmental impact assessment have been streamlined to be more favorable for businesses. Since the beginning of 2025, the province has issued dozens of new licences for soil mining exploitation with reserves of several million cubic metres, helping to meet around 65% of demand for materials. Among them, Thai Minh Group Joint Stock Company was granted a licence to exploit nearly 6.3 million cubic metres of soil for the Gia Binh International Airport project and related projects. These efforts helped Bac Ninh top the nation in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2025, while also ranking first in two component indices: creative government and compliance costs for administrative procedures.

Da Nang City, meanwhile, considers digital transformation as a competitive advantage in improving the quality of its investment environment. Ho Quang Buu, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, noted that the city's leading position in the "Taking transparency and digital transformation as an advantage" index in the PCI 2025 is the result of a consistent orientation: putting citizens and businesses at the centre of service, using data as the foundation, and using tangible effectiveness as the measure. At present, Da Nang publicly provides data on planning, land resources, investment project portfolios, and incentive policies via digital platforms. The city's system of IOC, Danang Smart City, and field feedback platform enable businesses to monitor the handling of their recommendations and requests in real time.

In 2025, Phu Tho Province entered the top five of the PCI rankings for the first time, reflecting strong efforts to innovate governance and administrative reform following provincial merger. Its “Access to resources” index ranked second nationwide. The province implemented the “50% green channel” mechanism, cutting processing times in half for key projects, while also implementing a “24-hour green channel” for eligible applications on the priority list. Recently, Meiko Yen Quang Electronics Company received its investment registration certificate after just one working day instead of the approximately 10 days stipulated under normal procedures.

“The processing time of the application was significantly reduced, exceeding our expectations and demonstrating the professionalism, responsibility and supportive spirit of Phu Tho Province's state management agencies,” said Tsuchibashi Akito, Meiko Yen Quang Electronics Company's General Director.

Alongside the advantage of a synchronous transport infrastructure, administrative reform has become a major driving force to help improve Hai Phong's competitiveness. In 2025, the city continued to lead the country in both the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR INDEX) and the satisfaction index of citizens and organisations with the public administrative services (SIPAS). Hai Phong has reduced processing times by at least 50% for 1,816 out of a total of 2,182 administrative procedures.

Building a foundation for start-ups

Alongside improving the investment environment, localities are building innovation ecosystems, supporting start-ups and developing the digital economy in order to create a foundation for the sustainable growth of private enterprises and their greater contribution to economic growth.

Ho Chi Minh City has the highest density of active enterprises in the country, with 23.75 businesses per 1,000 residents. Some 7.7% of private enterprises participate in the supply chains of multinational corporations. The city is also regarded as Southeast Asia's leading innovation ecosystem in terms of maturity. During the first quarter of this year, it reviewed and proposed the reduction and simplification of 540 administrative procedures related to production and business activities.

The “One Stop-One Decision-One Focal Point” model has been introduced to reduce intermediate layers in administrative procedures for businesses. According to Nguyen Thanh Toan, Deputy Head of the Department of Finance, the city is focusing on developing an International Financial Centre, building innovation corridors, developing smart logistics-port chains and applying big data to governance and operational management.

In 2026, Ha Noi allocated 4% of its total budget expenditure to science and technology, innovation and digital transformation. The city launched the HanoTEX Technology Exchange, the DTMarket Digital Transformation Market, established Ha Noi Innovation Centre Joint Stock Company and the HVCF Venture Capital Fund with an initial charter capital of 230 billion VND, aiming to expand capital sources and market for technology enterprises.

Notably, the amended Capital Law provides a range of special mechanisms enabling the city to attract investment, develop human resources and support innovative start-ups. Innovative start-up enterprises are exempt from corporate income tax, while key personnel are exempt from personal income tax during their first five years. As a result, in the first four months of 2026, Ha Noi recorded 12,800 newly established enterprises with total registered capital of 194.6 trillion VND, an increase of 37.2% in the number of enterprises and a 2.7-fold increase in registered capital compared with the same period of the previous year. The non-state sector currently contributes more than 60% of the city's total budget revenue.

Since the beginning of 2026, Quang Ninh Province has organised numerous meetings with businesses across different sectors to promptly address difficulties and obstacles. Nguyen Hai Van, Director of the Provincial Public Administration Service Centre, said that the province currently provides 2,267 administrative procedures online and implements services without dependence on administrative boundaries. Nearly 58.4% of procedures have been reduced processing times. Over the past five months, more than 2,000 enterprises and affiliated units have been newly established in the province, with total registered capital exceeding 13 trillion VND.

The above results show that institutional reform, investment environment improvements, and the construction of service-oriented local governments are creating positive changes, helping unlock social resources and promote the development of the private sector. However, a number of barriers still need to be addressed. Many small and medium-sized enterprises in Ha Noi continue to face difficulties in securing production premises due to high rental costs, while businesses in Bac Ninh remain constrained in accessing industrial land, credit and deeper participation in the supply chains of FDI corporations.

This requires ministries, sectors and local authorities to further intensify administrative reform, improve the institutional framework, enhance the quality of public service implementation and build a transparent and equitable business environment.