Quang Ninh
Provincial performance in implementing free trade agreements
Overview of the result
Quang Ninh scored 17.30 out of 40, placing it in the “Average” tier and ranking 25th of 34 provinces and cities. That is a modest result for a province with a strong economy, a high degree of industrialisation, and considerable advantages in mining, deep-water ports, border trade and tourism. All four pillars fall below the national average, with legal implementation showing the widest gap at −2.03 points. The results reveal a clear disconnect between Quang Ninh’s capacity to provide information and the effectiveness of its enterprise support. Quang Ninh leads the country on the quality of export forecasting and market-orientation information, yet ranks last on participation in FTA-related events; the legal guidance system is weak and firms' FTA utilisation remains very limited. The province's economic strength and trade base have not been converted into matching FTA implementation capacity.
Detailed analysis by component index
The information pillar is unusually uneven. The quality of forecasting and market-orientation information from local authorities (A8) ranks first nationally, while the channels through which enterprises access information on FTAs (A3) ranks 3rd. Frequency of participation in FTA-related events (A5), however, ranks 34th, while sources of information on FTA-related events (A6) and the quality of FTA-related information on the local online portal (A9) both rank 33rd. The province can produce good-quality information but has not converted it into regular business access and participation.
Press and television reach 89.8% of firms and web portals 61.4%. The interactive channels, however, barely reach anyone: conferences reach just 15.7% and training 12.7%. Only about a fifth of firms say information from central or local agencies meets most or all of their needs — 19.4% and 20.6% respectively — and among private domestic firms the positive rate is just 10.7%. Fewer than half of the firms that attend events rate them well on all three dimensions (specificity, reliability and timeliness), so the problem is not only coverage but how practical the content is.
This is Quang Ninh's most pressing institutional gap. The quality of guidance on the legal documents (B3) and the complexity of complying with them (B4) both rank 34th, while firms' understanding of those documents (B1) ranks 33rd. The uptake of enterprise feedback by local authorities (B7) ranks 29th, and the frequency of guidance (B2) and participation in training (B5) both rank 26th. Firms therefore face limited legal knowledge, infrequent guidance and a heavy compliance burden all at once.
Only 10–14% of enterprises regularly receive guidance in the main regulatory areas. Although FDI enterprises receive guidance more frequently than domestic private enterprises, the highest rate is still only 41.5%. Guidance on taxation, customs, and investment receives the most positive assessment, yet this reaches just 30.3%, while positive ratings in all other fields remain below 20%. At the same time, approximately 84–86% of enterprises consider the principal legal requirements complex, with the share approaching or exceeding 90% among many small, medium-sized, and domestic private enterprise groups. Even large and FDI enterprises face considerable difficulties complying with labor and environmental requirements.
Access to competitiveness support policies (C6) ranks 14th, showing that the basic policy infrastructure is in place. Actual FTA utilisation, however, stays very low: the FTA commitments utilised (C4) ranks 34th, barriers to utilisation (C5) and trade promotion frequency (C9.1) both rank 32nd, and self-assessed FTA utilisation (C1) ranks 31st. Firms knowing about or reaching policy is not enough to produce results if the programmes lack depth, specificity and effective delivery.
FTA utilisation rests almost entirely on tariff preferences (89.2%), while rules of origin reach just 31.9% and every other commitment falls below 20%. A lack of market information (53%) and limited capital (41.6%) are the two biggest obstacles. Private domestic firms report more serious information and finance gaps, while FDI firms cite difficulty reaching partners, understanding the commitments and handling administrative procedures. Only about 10–19% of firms rate the competitiveness programmes effective — a wide gap between being able to reach policy and the quality of the support actually delivered.
Quang Ninh still shows a considerable gap in understanding of, and readiness for, sustainable development requirements. The perceived importance of complying with import-market sustainable development commitments (D5, 21st) and the perceived impact of those rules on business operations (D2, 23rd) fare relatively better. Understanding of the sustainable development commitments (D1), however, ranks 32nd, readiness to comply (D3) ranks 27th and the effectiveness of support from local authorities (D4) ranks 24th. Firms have begun to recognise the issue but lack the technical knowledge, the implementation plans and the support they need.
Only around 11–19% of enterprises have at least a partial understanding of each sustainable development area, with the corresponding rates remaining below 6% among small enterprises. Preparedness is similarly limited at just 11–19%, although large and FDI enterprises perform comparatively better. Only about 18–23% of enterprises consider provincial support effective, while positive assessments among domestic private enterprises stand at approximately 12–14%. Moreover, more than 20% of small enterprises report receiving no support in several specialized areas.