The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy includes Macao for the first time in its Annual Report "Trend of Corruption in Asia". Macao, with a grade of 4.78, was ranked the 4th among the 13 Asian countries/regions, following Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong
Category: CCAC's Updates Release method: Press Releases
Release:2006/02/28
The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy includes Macao for the first time in its Annual Report ¡§Trend of Corruption in Asia¡¨. Macao, with a grade of 4.78, was ranked the 4th among the 13 Asian countries/regions, following Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
The survey was conducted in January and February this year through interviews and questionnaires. The analysis was made based on more than 1,200 responses received from foreign businessmen and expatriates in the countries/countries surveyed. The grades range from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most serious level of corruption and 0 the least. Results show that Singapore obtained the lowest grade of 1.30, followed by Japan, with a grade of 3.01 and Hong Kong, 3.13. Macao was ranked the 4th among the 13 countries/regions with a grade of 4.78.
As indicated in the report, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy includes Macao for the first time in its survey mainly due to the booming economy and surging foreign investments in Macao in recent years. Since the establishment of the Macao SAR, Macao set up an independent anti-corruption entity, the Commission Against Corruption of Macao, in a model similar to that of the ICAC in Hong Kong. A lot of foreign investors in Macao are still required to comply with the regulations of their own countries. This serves as an impetus for Macao to review its efforts in combating illegal activities.
As for the trend of corruption, the report shows that over 55% of the respondents perceived that the overall integrity situation of Macao was improving and about 10% perceived that it was worsening, while nearly 30% perceived the situation the same. In addition, the report also mentioned that since the Consultancy had never surveyed Macao before, they predicted, simply based on past impressions, that Macao would end up somewhere near the bottom of the ranking table. Only when the survey showed that Macao was ranked higher than South Korea and just behind Hong Kong, they came to realize that Macao had really turned over a new leaf.
