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Hong Kong offers a clean business environment |
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Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu, Commissioner of ICAC |
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As an international financial centre and a gateway to Mainland China, Hong Kong not only offers abundant business opportunities but also a clean and fair business environment where the rule of law prevails.
Head of Hong Kong's anti-corruption agency, Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu, talks to the ICAC Post about the agency's integrity building efforts and how they contribute to the city's competitive edge.
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| Is Hong Kong totally free of corruption? |
Corruption cannot be totally eliminated in any place. But in Hong Kong, it is firmly under control, with a robust anti-graft agency and a vigilant public. Since its inception 40 years ago, the ICAC has made relentless efforts, hand in hand with the community, to build a clean society. Today Hong Kong has won worldwide acclaim as one of the cleanest cities in the world, with a clean government and a level playing field for businesses.
Last year, the number of graft complaints received by the ICAC dropped 33% to 2,652. We reckon that it was possibly due to increased awareness and intensive preventive efforts. Our recent survey showed that only a very tiny proportion (about 1%) of respondents had encountered corruption in the past 12 months, and our citizens were intolerant of corruption.
While hailing Hong Kong as the world's freest economy, the Heritage Foundation, in its Index of Economic Freedom 2014, acknowledged that "Hong Kong enjoys low rates of corruption".
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| Can companies sharpen their edge through corruption prevention? |
Good governance definitely helps companies stay competitive. The ICAC has partnered with major chambers of commerce to establish the Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre in 1995 to promulgate business ethics on a long-term basis. The ICAC also has corruption prevention experts working in the Advisory Services Group to offer free and confidential services to individual companies. Over the years, various programmes have been launched to help different sectors and professions abide by the anti-corruption laws and enhance governance.
To help businessmen meet the challenge of conducting cross-boundary business, the ICAC has compiled a guidebook, "Business Success: Integrity & Legal Compliance Corruption Prevention Guide", to acquaint them with anti-corruption laws and regulations in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Another guidebook has also been produced for bank managers. Recently, we have produced scenario-based video programmes to illustrate the application of local anti-bribery law in real business situations. The programmes are accessible from the ICAC corporate website (www.icac.org.hk). |
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Scenario-based video programmes |
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We will also meet with the senior management of over 15 foreign chambers of commerce in Hong Kong later this month to update them on the latest development of our anti-corruption work.
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Visit to the United Nations Global Compact |
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International bodies appreciate HK's anti-graft work |
In November last year, the ICAC Commissioner paid an official visit to the United States (US) where he met law enforcement agencies and US-based international organisations, including the United Nations Global Compact, the World Bank and the World Justice Project. These organisations appreciated Hong Kong’s success in tackling corruption through a holistic strategy of enforcement, prevention and education.
Later this month, Mr Peh will attend an international conference in Barcelona to exchange anti-corruption experience with counterparts and call on the World Economic Forum, the International Institute for Management Development and the Transparency International to introduce Hong Kong's integrity building efforts.
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| Insurance manager prosecuted for taking bribes and deceiving commissions |
 A senior unit manager of an insurance company was prosecuted by the ICAC for accepting over $560,000 in bribes and using bogus insurance policies to deceive commissions.
In order to reach the required production targets and maintain a certain number of productive insurance agents, the defendant asked three agents to sign on a number of bogus insurance policy application forms as the handling agents and submitted them to the insurance company.
As a result of the scam, the senior manager received commissions of over $92,000 in commissions while her agents were paid a total of over $563,000 in commissions and allowances. The agents then passed the $563,000 back to her.
The senior manager was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to her charges in court. The judge remarked that the bribery and fraud offences were serious in nature.
The three agents, who were also charged in the case, were sentenced to community service orders. |
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| Training package for bank managers |
In close partnership with the banking sector, the ICAC's Corruption Prevention Department (CPD) has produced a training package for bank managers to promote integrity management in the industry.
Bank on Integrity – A Practical Guide for Bank Managers, a reference guidebook together with a video designed for self-learning and staff training, was compiled to enhance bank managers' corruption prevention awareness, and promulgate the preventive measures to control corruption risks.
"Good corporate governance practices and a robust banking system are linchpins to Hong Kong’s success in being one of the most important international financial centres in the world," said Mr Raymond Ng Kwok-ming, Assistant Director of Corruption Prevention.
"The training package aims at providing a user-friendly, informative reference for bank managers and practitioners to enhance internal controls." |
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Mr Raymong Ng Kwok-ming, Assistant Director of Corruption Prevention |
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Training package for bank managers |
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The training package was jointly developed by the Advisory Services Group of CPD, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Association of Banks, The DTC Association and the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers.
CDs containing the practical guide and a training video were sent to about 200 banks and deposit-taking companies in Hong Kong. For further information, please contact the Advisory Services Group of CPD which provides free, confidential and tailor-made services to private sector organisations: |
Telephone hotline: 2526 6363 Email: asg@cpd.icac.org.hk |
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