Business News
(eca 010): Only 10 per cent of Singapore firms hit by corruption
By DPA
May 22, 2008, 3:56 GMT

Singapore - Bribery and other forms of dodgy dealings are not a huge problem in Singapore companies, a published survey said Thursday.

Only one in 10 firms polled in the Ernst & Young survey experienced an incident of bribery or corruption in the last two years, well under the global average of nearly four in 10.

Firms in the city-state 'operate in a relatively corruption-free business environment and appear to be well-positioned to combat bribery and corruption,' The Straits Times quoted Rajagopalan Seshadri, Ernst & Young partner, as saying.

Eighty-five per cent of the companies polled said they expect the country's laws and regulations against bribery and corruption to be strongly enforced, compared to the global average of 40 per cent.

The city-state has procedures to deal with government officials to mitigate corruption, according to 67 per cent of the firms. The global average is 28 per cent.

The professional services firm interviewed 1,200 senior executives in large companies across 33 countries from November to February.