Annual Report "Trend of Corruption in Asia 2007"

The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy released the Annual Report "Trend of Corruption in Asia 2007" today (March 14), evaluating 13 regions and countries in Asia. Macao¡¦s integrity situation, scored 5.18, ranked 4^th among the evaluated, following Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. A number of changes are to be found in the ranking this year, with only Singapore maintaining its first position and Macao the fourth.

The conclusion of the Annual Report "Trend of Corruption in Asia 2007" was made after carrying out a large-scale research. Conducted in January and February through questionnaires and interviews, responses were obtained from over 1400 foreign businessmen and expatriates in the countries/regions surveyed. Rankings are made based on scores, with 10 score being the most corrupted and a lower score reflects a better integrity situation. Results show that Singapore obtained the lowest score of 1.20, followed by Hong Kong, with a score of 1.87 and Japan, 2.10. Macao ranked the 4^th among the 13 countries/regions with a score of 5.18.

           The Report says ¡§interviews of expatriates who have worked in Macao for over a decade indicate that the problem of petty corruption has actually improved a lot but the money involved in the corruption that is taking place today is a lot bigger than before.¡¨ Compared to the score of 4.78 in 2006, the score of Macao this year is 5.18, a bit higher than that of the previous year, while the score of the 5^th and 6^th ranked countries have also increased. However, the score of Hong Kong significantly reduces from 3.13 in 2006 to 1.87 of this year, with its ranking lifts up to the 2^nd this year from the 3^rd of 2006.

The Report also notes that the ex-Secretary for Transport and Public Works being ¡§arrested for allegedly accepting bribes and engaging in illegal financial activities does not show so much that the problem of corruption is worsening as it does that the government is trying to fight it.¡¨ It also mentions that both Macao and Hong Kong ¡§have fairly strong anti-corruption bodies that keep their governments relatively clean.¡¨

The Report also records scores of 5.18 and 4.97 for interviewees¡¦ perception on the seriousness of corruption in public and private sector respectively, showing a fairly close corruption perception in both sectors.

Ranking Table of Integrity Situation in Asia

Source of Information¡GPolitical & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd