pt charges paid, the time firms waste on bureaucratic compliance, and the initiative level of local lead

He has been called a dictator and is dogged by rumours of corruption but many agree that Nguyen Ba Thanh has rare talents in a country choked by bureaucracy: He gets things done. As Vietnam looks to retool its economy, some foreign investors say the city of Danang, where Thanh is the local Communist Party leader, could be an example for the rest of the country.



"I think it should be the model," said Peter Ryder, chief executive officer of Indochina Capital, which invested about $300 million to develop beachfront properties and a downtown highrise in the city. Ryder said Thanh, 58, has an "enormous footprint" and deserves a lot of credit for Danang's popularity among investors, partly thanks to its dynamic political culture. "He's a pioneer," agreed Takafumi Matsumoto, secretary general of The Japan Business Association in Danang.



An index supported by the US Agency for International Development, based on a survey of 7,300 private Vietnamese businesses, placed Danang first among the country's 63 cities and provinces as a place to do business in 2010. The index is based on various criteria including how long it takes to start a business, the amount of "informal" or corrupt charges paid, the time firms waste on bureaucratic compliance, and the initiative level of local leadership. In contrast, Vietnam's business hub Ho Chi Minh City ranked 23 in 2010 while the capital Hanoi came in at 43.



In the quarter-century since communist Vietnam began to turn away from a planned economy to embrace the free market, Vietnam has enjoyed economic growth that has been the envy of many other Asian nations. But excessive bureaucracy remains a top complaint for foreign investors, along with corruption, a shortage of skilled workers and an under-developed infrastructure including roads, electricity and ports. The ruling Communists have pledged to car
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