Friday, June 08, 2007

Corruption a major concern for US firms in SE Asia: survey

Friday June 8, 2007
AFP

Corruption is a concern for US businesses operating in Southeast Asia, according to results of a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Singapore released Friday.

The survey, which polled AmCham members in six countries, showed corruption was regarded as a significant factor impacting business in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Singapore was the only country polled out of the six where corruption was regarded as a non-issue, the results showed.

"This (corruption), combined with concerns about the lack of predictability and stability in government regulations in several countries ... is a vital competitiveness issue which ASEAN must seriously address," said Dom LaVigne, executive director of AmCham Singapore.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which the six countries are members of, is a 10-nation grouping. The other four members are Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

In Indonesia, 86 percent of AmCham members there polled felt corruption was a significant factor, in Malaysia the figure was 51 percent, in the Philippines 72 percent, Thailand 63 percent and in Vietnam 67 percent.

Overall, 62 percent of those polled in the six countries also expect Southeast Asia will be more important over the next two years due mainly to the region's continued strong economic growth, the survey showed.

A key challenge for ASEAN lies in how the region can integrate their respective markets, said LaVigne.

"While ASEAN continues to play an important role for our member companies' bottom lines, finding ways to achieve regional integration and to make ASEAN a more seamless and transparent market for doing business is of great importance to our members," he said.

"ASEAN has become a more important for American businesses. The challenge is really ASEAN integration and how that is going to play out."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"In Indonesia, 86 percent of AmCham members there polled felt corruption was a significant factor, in Malaysia the figure was 51 percent, in the Philippines 72 percent, Thailand 63 percent and in Vietnam 67 percent"

In Cambodia 100 percent.

Anonymous said...

Cambodia has too much corruption and no good business practice and Cambodia will never ever attract any more businesses than what Cambodia already has right now. I can't believe that stupid Cambodian government cut Cambodian people salary to create more jobs! I believe the market force will make any correction by itself if there is any imbalance in wage, supply,and demand. AH HUN SEN have no right to intervene the market force otherwise AH HUN SEN is hiding and promoting a weak economic system that can't even compete with the rest of the world! Now that AH HUN SEN is intervened the market force and I want to see him intervene across the board including gasoline price, electricity, real estate, cheap dirt import from Thailane and Vietname,..

This is the different between Cambodia under AH HUN SEN Vietcong slave dictatorship and the world! The other country such as Inodnesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailane,Vietname...their people get better pay and their economy is still growing!

AH HUN SEN said he is not afraid to make mistake but he is making too many stupid mistakes and Cambodian people and their children are paying for it! I like to AH HUN SEN for his stupid mistake!

Anonymous said...

"The survey, which polled AmCham members in six countries, showed corruption was regarded as a significant factor impacting business in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Singapore was the only country polled out of the six where corruption was regarded as a non-issue, the results showed.


Perfect! this means we are not
as bad as Indonesia, Malaysia,...
or Philipine, but we are not quite
as good as Singapore yet. However,
we will for sure, once we have
more moneys to look out after our
resources.