Thailand, Vietnam and India are the Asian countries which have most improved their ranking over the past year in the list of the best countries in which to do business assessment by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The business environment report measures the attractiveness of the business environment in 82 countries on a quarterly basis, using a standard analytical framework with 91 indicators.

The assessment found that Vietnam and Thailand have favourable policies for foreign investors and are benefiting from firms pursuing a China+1 policy of having supply chains in both China and another Asian market.

The China+1 policy is a result of the impact of China’s zero-COVID policy, which constrained business operations. It also allows businesses to mitigate the geopolitical risk associated with the US-China relationship, the report said.

“Vietnam’s score rises on the back of an improving economic outlook, and Thailand’s as a result of greater economic stability.”

Thailand is among the countries with the biggest improvement over the past year, along with Vietnam, Belgium, Sweden, India and Costa Rica.

On the contrary, the report said the outlook for China’s business environment has deteriorated, as a result of policy uncertainty and US-China tension.

The report called China the “biggest loser” globally, as it fell 11 places in the second-quarter ranking from a year earlier. “China now ranks below Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and India,” the EIU reported.