Manila
March 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Philippines is perceived as Asia's most corrupt economy, according to a poll by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd., with Indonesia improving its standing after being ranked worst for five years in a row.
Thailand and Indonesia were seen as the second most corrupt nations, according to the Hong Kong-based company's survey of 1,476 expatriates, which was released to the media today. Singapore is seen as the least corrupt of the 13 economies studied, followed by Hong Kong and Japan.
``The Philippines has the distinction of being perceived in the worst light this year,'' PERC said in the statement. ``It is bad and has been bad all along. People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity of leading officials when they promise to fight corruption.''
The findings are a setback for Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, who defeated two impeachment attempts after allegations she cheated in the 2004 election. She has denied the allegations.
``The political analysis, they work on old data, they don't work on up-to-date data,'' Arroyo told reporters in Manila today in response to the survey findings.
Most of Asia is struggling to fight corruption that's been a constraint to business in the region. The Philippines, whose corruption score posted the steepest rise, has been getting the least amount of foreign direct investments and lower foreign capital flows to its stock market compared with Indonesia and Thailand, PERC said.
Improvement
The Philippines got a score of 9.40 from 7.80 last year in the poll, which has a grading system of zero as the best possible score, and 10 as the worst.
To be sure, net foreign direct investments to the country rose 27 percent last year to $2.35 billion, according to data from the Philippine central bank. ``If we are to talk about government programs on anti-corruption, we've done a lot,'' Constancia de Guzman, chairman of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, told reporters in Manila. ``There is an improvement and we have a successful drive against corruption.''
Thailand, which has a junta-backed government after last September's coup, is probably the country where corruption problems are most visible, PERC said.
Indonesia
Indonesia, deemed Asia's most corrupt country since 2002, improved its score to 8.03, the same as Thailand. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's campaign against corruption has yielded positive results, though it's being undermined by local- level officials, government bureaucrats and senior politicians, the report said.
Vietnam is the fourth most corrupt as the government is seen to take a selective approach to fighting corruption, the survey said. It scored 7.54 from last year's 7.91. Vietnam was ranked the most corrupt economy in 2001.
``As in China, the biggest problem in Vietnam lies with state-owned companies and with people trying to use their positions to plunder state assets,'' the survey said.
China, the world's fastest growing-major economy, is the seventh most corrupt. The country's score improved to 6.29 from last year's 7.58 as tight media censorship probably helped, the report said.
India is the fifth most corrupt, followed by South Korea, PERC said, adding the Indian government must hasten reforms. India's score improved to 6.67 from 6.76 last year.
Malaysia is in the eighth place. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has permitted a more open discussion of the problem of graft, though he has yet to deliver on his campaign promise to cut corruption, PERC said.
Singapore, the least corrupt among the 13 economies for the 10th straight year, is increasingly becoming vulnerable to corruption in other countries as state-linked companies invest overseas, the report said.
The sale of Shin Corp. by investors, including the family of deposed Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, to Singapore's state- owned company Temasek Holdings Pte., angered Thais because the family didn't pay tax on the proceeds. Shin Corp., which was sold last year, owns the biggest Thai mobile-phone company.
To contact the reporters on this story: Katherine Espina in Singapore at kespina@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tony Jordan at tjordan3@bloomberg.net
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