HANOI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Around 66 percent of surveyed Vietnamese firms had to pay "informal fees" during 2014-2016 period, some 12-15 percentage points higher than during 2008-2013 period, a report on Vietnam's Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2016 showed Tuesday.
According to the report released by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), some 9-11 percent of Vietnamese firms said the fees accounted for over 10 percent of their total revenues, much higher than that of 6-8 percent during the previous period.
In addition, "the fact that local companies still faced harassment when dealing with business procedures remains popular," said Dau Anh Tuan, head of VCCI's Legal Department at the launch of the report.
In 2016, some 58 percent of Vietnamese companies said they faced the situation.
Another worrying trend is lack of transparency, said Tuan, adding that the survey showed that personal relationship with public servants continues to play an important role in the companies' access to critical information and documents for their production and business activities.
Last year, some 66 percent of the companies said they had to use private relations to access information, 16 percentage points higher than the record low level in 2008, said the VCCI on its website.
The PCI is an annual business survey, assessment and ranking of the economic governance quality of provincial authorities, issued by the VCCI in coordination with U.S. Agency for International Development's Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) since 2004.
