Doing Business in Thailand

In today and tomorrow post I will comment on the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 just published by the World Bank. Overall, 70 countries were surveyed, 12 of which are Asian countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea).

The survey may be downloaded at:

http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/gcb/2009/gcb_2009_faq

Asian countries that were not included in the survey are China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea.

In Thailand the survey was conducted by phone between the 15 and 22 November 2008 based on a national sample of 500 persons.

The first part of the survey was to determine the public perception of the level of corruption in their country of six particulars institutions.

A score of 1 would mean that country institutions are not perceived to be affected at all by corruption (of course and sadly no countries score 1); a score of 5 would mean that the institutions of a country are perceived by the public as extremely corrupt.

The Asian countries that obtained the best scores are of course Singapore with an average score of 2.2, Brunei with an average score of 2.3 and a surprisingly good result of 3.0 points for Cambodia. The two countries in Asia that are perceived as the most corrupted are South Korea and Japan with a score of 3.9 each bus as I explained above those results may have been different if China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea had been included in the survey. Also, the country which institutions are perceived as the most corrupted by its inhabitants is Ukraine with an average score of 4.3 points.

Now how does Thailand score?

TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU PERCEIVE THE FOLLOWING INSTITUTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY TO BE AFFECTED BY CORRUPTION?

This survey contains a few pearls.

Indeed, as a foreign business man in Thailand I often hear western businessmen complaining about the corruption in Thailand (France and Germany are not among the countries surveyed unfortunately).

Now with an average score of 3.3 Thailand ranks 5 out of 12 Asian countries surveyed with a score that is below the total sample and Asian average of 3.9 points. Secondly Thailand scores the same than the United Kingdom and better than the US that has an average score of 3.7 points. Of course this part of the survey is about “perceived corruption” but still the findings amuse me as far as the US and UK are concerned.

The institution that Thai people are perceiving as the most corrupt is not surprisingly the political parties at 4.1 (for info the US political parties scores a 4.0 (to compare with Russia at 3.9)) that is to say 0.4 point above the total sample average (the worth is Panama were political parties corruption perception is at 4.6 and in Asia South Korea and Japan with respectively 4.3 points each).

Interestingly, Thailand is the country surveyed where there is the biggest differential (1 point) between political parties (4.1 points) and parliament (3.1 points) perceived corruption (perceived corruption of the US legislature is 3.9).

This differential is quite surprising because parliament’s members are generally members of the same political parties that are perceived as corrupted.

Media and the judiciary are perceived by Thai as the two institutions the less corrupted of the country with respective scores of 2.8 points each which are quite impressive scores by comparison to the total sample average of respectively 3.2.(medias) and 3.5 (judiciary).

The business sector is perceived as corrupted at 3.2 (which is better than the US with a perception at 3.7 the United Kingdom at 3.5 and the same as Switzerland at 3.2). Thai ranks 5 out of 12 countries as to perceived corruption of its civil servants with a score of 3.6 points. Here again Thai civil servants are perceived as less corrupted than their US counterpart at 3.7.

Thai people are very harsh when it comes to judge the ineffectiveness of the government fight against corruption with 65% judging it ineffective against a total sample average of 56% and an Asian average of 62% of perceived ineffectiveness. Note that this survey was realized in November 2008 before the latest change of goverment.  Note that the worth scores in relation to perceived effectiveness of the fight against corruption are Lithuania at 84%, Argentina and South Korea at 83% (the US scores 73%). Tomorrow we will continue with the second part of the survey.

About the Author:

The author Rene-Philippe DUBOUT is a lawyer since 1990 when he was admitted to Geneva bar (Switzerland). He practiced as a litigator there for 10 years until he moved to Thailand in 1999. In 2002 he founded with a group of Thai lawyers Rene Philippe & Partners Ltd a local law firm that specialized in Cross Borders Investments and Real Estate. He has been lecturing in several Thai Universities and a speaker to numerous conferences and seminars. He is the author of a must read book:”How to Purchase Real Estate Offshore Safely: The Case of Thailand”.

http//:www.renephilippe.com

© Copyrights 2009 – Rene Philippe Dubout – This article may be reprinted if information about the author, the websites, and the URLs remain intact.

Originally posted 2009-09-30 04:55:13.

Related posts:

1. Doing Business in Thailand: Global Corruption Barometer Part 2
2. Doing Business in Thailand: Corruption Index 2011
3. Doing Business in Thailand: Local Corruption Barometer
4. Doing Business in Thailand: Understanding Thai Administration
5. Company Registration: New Companies Registration in 2009
6. Buying a Business In Thailand – The Due Diligence
7. Doing Business in Thailand: Living in a state of sin
8. Buying a Business in Thailand – General Issues to Consider