Singapore hosts the ASEAN Responsible Business Forum (Source: Inspreneur) Singapore (VNA) – The top listedASEAN companies have been improving their anti-corruption activities over thepast two years, according to the Study on Corporate Disclosure on BusinessIntegrity in ASEAN, which was announced at the ASEAN Responsible Business Forum(ARBF) in Singapore on August 27-28.
The study, conducted by the ASEAN CSR Network(ACN) and National University of Singapore (NUS), assesses public disclosurepractices on business integrity and anti-corruption programmes within the 50largest companies in five ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,Singapore, and Thailand.
The listed companies in all five countriesachieved an average level of 56 percent in sharing anti-corruption practices,up 11 percent since 2016.
Thailand maintained its lead with the highest proportion of 67 percent, up from57 percent in 2016. Singapore came second with 55 percent, up 47 percent since2016.
The Philippines and Malaysia were tied at 53 percent, while Indonesia improved12 percentage points to achieve a score of 51 percent.
Notably, all the countries’commitments to anti-corruption increased from 54 percent in 2016 to 70 percentthis year. The rate of business leaders committed to preventing corruption hadbeen significantly improved to 38 percent from 18 percent.
The ARBF drew over 200 delegates that are expertsand representatives from public, private, and civil society sectors to promoteresponsible business practices and cooperation in the region.
Participants discussed business issues toaddress the major challenges facing ASEAN including business integrity andcorruption, finance, small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) development, andclimate change and sustainable environmental development.
Dinh Thi Bich Xuan, a representative from theVietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said promoting businessintegrity is a complicated issue that requires the effort of stakeholders – inwhich the VCCI plays a key role in bridging businesses with governmentalagencies.
Xuan shared that Vietnam is conducting itsrevisions to the law on anti-corruption, including expanding the scale ofadjustment to the private sector. This means that the private sector will playan important role in promoting business integrity, she said.
Also at the forum, the ASEAN Mentorship forEntrepreneurs Network (AMEN) – an initiative from the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanshipin 2017 – was launched with a view to developing an eco-system to facilitatethe operational expansion of SMEs which contribute up to 50 percent to theregion’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 19-31 percent to the regional exportturnover. The network will provide consultancy and support for SMEs in priorityfields such as ditigal economy, trade, industry, and agriculture. –VNA
VNA
