Dealing with companies from China, Turkey: government advised to be on guard
Transparency International Pakistan Adviser Syed Adil Gilani has advised the Government of Pakistan to be on guard while dealing with private limited companies in China and Turkey which have been declared as most corrupt countries in the world by the 'Bribe Payer Index (BPI) - 2001', released on November 2, by Transparency International, Berlin.
China at level 28 and Turkey at level 20 are rated as high corruption countries out of 28 countries in the world, he said, adding that 'BPI' is conducted for countries which export minimum 1 percent of world export, and public works contract and construction are the most corrupt sectors where bribe is paid. Bribing public officials, when doing business abroad, is a regular occurrence, according to BPI of more than 3,000 business executives from developed and developing countries.
The survey ranks 28 leading international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood that their firms will pay bribes abroad. The index also looks at the likelihood of firms in 19 business sectors engaging in bribery and exerting undue influence on governments.
Transparency International's '2011 Bribe Payers Survey' asked more than 3,000 business executives world-wide about their views on the extent to which companies from 28 of the world's leading economies engage in bribery when doing business abroad. The score for each country is based on the views of the business executives who had come into contact with companies from that country.
The 28 countries and territories in the 'Bribe Payers Index-2011' were selected based on the value of their foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows, the value of their exports, and their regional significance. Further, the index includes all G20 countries. It scores, and ranks, countries on a scale of 0 to 10, where a maximum score of 10 corresponds with a view that companies from that country seldom engage in bribery when doing business abroad.
The index shows that there is no country, among the 28 major economies, whose companies are perceived to be wholly clean and which do not engage in bribery. The Netherlands and Switzerland top the table with scores of 8.8, with Belgium, Germany and Japan following closely behind. Companies from these countries are seen as less likely to engage in bribery than the other countries ranked; but there is still room for improvement.
At the bottom of the table, companies from China and Russia are perceived to be most likely to engage in bribery abroad. The business people surveyed perceived bribery by companies from these countries to be most widespread, resulting in scores for China and Russia that are substantially lower than the other surveyed countries. The scores, based on business executives' responses when asked how often firms with which they have business relationship from a given country, engage in bribery (0=always, 10=never). The details are as follows:
=========================================================
RANK COUNTRY BRIBE RANK COUNTRY BRIBE
PLAYERS PLAYERS
INDEX INDEX
=========================================================
1 Netherlands 8.8 1 Switzerland 8.8
3 Belgium 8.7 4 Germany 8.6
4 Japan 8.6 6 Australia 8.5
6 Canada 8.5 8 Singapore 8.3
8 UK 8.3 10 USA 8.1
11 France 8.0 11 Spain 8.0
13 South Korea 7.9 14 Brazil 7.7
15 Hong Kong 7.6 15 Italy 7.6
15 Malaysia 7.6 15 South Africa 7.6
19 Taiwan 7.5 19 India 7.5
19 Turkey 7.5 22 Saudi Arabia 7.4
23 Argentina 7.3 23 UAE 7.3
25 Indonesia 7.1 26 Mexico 7.0
27 China 6.5 28 Russia 6.1
=========================================================
Average 7.8
=========================================================
The Scores based on business executives' responses when asked how often firms, with which they do business, from a given sector engage in bribery (0=always, 10=never).
========================================
RANK SECTOR SECTOR
SCORE
========================================
1 Agriculture 7.1
1 Light manufacture 7.1
3 Civilian Aerospace 7.0
3 Information Technology 7.0
5 Banking & Finance 6.9
5 Forestry 6.9
7 Consumer Services 6.8
8 Telecommunications 6.7
8 Transportation & Storage 6.7
10 Arms, Defence & Military 6.6
10 Fisheries 6.6
12 Heavy Manufacturing 6.5
13 Pharmaceutical & Healthcar 6.4
13 Power Generation &
Transmission 6.4
15 Mining 6.3
16 Oil & Gas 6.2
17 Real Estate, Property,
Business & Legal Services 6.1
17 Utilities 6.1
19 Public Works Contracts
& Construction 5.3
Average 6.6
========================================