Effect of provincial competitiveness index on enterprise attraction in the Central Highlands, Vietnam

This study aims to make a critical review of provincial competitiveness index (PCI) in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. In this regard, the research examines relationships between PCI and the possible attraction of enterprises operating in the region, thereafter, proposes some policy recommendations to improve business environment in the region. The secondary dataset of PCI and enterprise were incorporate with primary data collected from qualitative methods to explore the effect of PCI on enterprise attraction. The results show that the enterprises which have been operating in the Central Highlands accounted for 2.2% of the total with invested capital and accounted for 1.1% of whole country in 2018. PCI highly correlates with the number of enterprises, the employees and the capital of enterprises. Consequently, in order to attract enterprises, local governments in the region need to improve sub-indexes thereby improving general PCI scores.