廉政快訊 ICAC POST

www.icac.org.hk

Aug 2015,
Issue No.20

ICAC chief updates international bodies on HK's probity situation

Mr Simon Peh (left) presents an ICAC publication to Dr Miklos Marschall (right) of the TI. ICAC Commissioner Mr Simon Peh Yun-lu recently gave an update on Hong Kong's probity situation to some renowned international institutions, assuring them the city continued to remain one of the freest, cleanest and most competitive economies in the world.

In his recent visit to Germany, Mr Peh called on Berlin-based Transparency International (TI), a non-governmental organisation that monitors corruption in international development and publishes the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

According to the CPI 2014, Hong Kong was ranked the 17th least corrupt place among 175 countries and territories polled. In Asia, Hong Kong was the third cleanest place, after Singapore and Japan.

The Commissioner briefed TI's research experts on Hong Kong's anti-corruption initiatives and probity situation. Both sides exchanged views on measures to help make the index more user-friendly for the general public.

Mr Simon Peh (second from left) meets with Mr Bryan Riley (second from right) and two senior representatives of the HF. Prior to Germany, the Commissioner visited the Heritage Foundation (HF) in the United States (US). As an influential public policy research institute, the HF releases the annual Index of Economic Freedom (IEF).

In 2015, the IEF ranked Hong Kong as the freest economy for the 21st consecutive year among 178 economies assessed. The index measured the degree of economic freedom by assessing 10 factors, including "freedom from corruption". The chapter on Hong Kong highlighted that the city "continues to enjoy relatively low rates of corruption".

In a meeting with senior executives of the HF, Mr Peh briefed them on the latest probity situation of Hong Kong. The ICAC was commended for its independent status and effective anti-corruption initiatives. Both sides also exchanged views on the methodology of measuring "freedom from corruption".

Apart from the HF, Mr Peh also called on the RAND Corporation, a leading international public administration think-tank, and Trace International, a non-profit business association providing members with anti-bribery compliance support, in the US, which jointly released the TRACE Matrix.

First published in November 2014, the TRACE Matrix, the first global index assessing business bribery risk of a country, ranked Hong Kong the 4th least corrupt place in 197 economies around the world, and the least corrupt in Asia.

What did the experts say?

The 6th ICAC Symposium themed on "A Future Without Corruption – One Vision, Multiple Strategies" attracted over 500 delegates from about 60 jurisdictions and international organisations. Of the 30 speakers and experts who addressed the three-day symposium held in May 2015, three of them shared their views with the ICAC Post:

Mr Stephen Zimmermann, Director of Operations, Integrity Vice Presidency, The World Bank Group

"When a jurisdiction is able to take grand corruption seriously, that is a key sign of the maturity and the development of the system. Hong Kong, as the financial centre in this part of the world, has both the responsibility and an opportunity to take that and use that as a lesson learned for its neighbours in the region and people around the world... The challenge for Hong Kong is how to export that."

Ms Natalia Soebagjo, Member, Board of Directors, Transparency International

"Hong Kong has been doing a very good job in tackling corruption. The ICAC is an institution which is highly respected – its credibility, efficiency and impartiality in tackling corruption is commended by many. There is no doubt that Hong Kong is very serious in tackling corruption."

"Hong Kong people should really be positive about the strikes and the developments that you have in tackling corruption."

Dr Juan Carlos Botero, Executive Director, The World Justice Project

"When there is a high profile case, people's understanding of the problem increases. As the understanding of the problem increases, the visibility increases. And paradoxically, the perception of corruption increases. But this may actually be a sign that the problem is being addressed... which would not happen if everything is covered."

Corruption complaints in 2015 (January–June)

Work ethics a must for directors

The Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Advisory Committee (BEDAC) has called on directors of listed companies to set themselves as the role models for their staff by following good work ethics apart from keeping their eyes on profits.

The BEDAC, which comprises representatives of 10 major chambers of commerce in Hong Kong, steers the work of the Hong Kong Business Ethics Development Centre established under the auspices of the Community Relations Department (CRD) of the ICAC to fortify the business sector's resistance to corruption.

As directors of listed companies, they should ensure that their staff complied with the latest regulations and maintained high ethical standards, said Mr Cliff Sun Kai-lit, chairman of the BEDAC and honorary president of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.

Mr Sun pointed out that internal guidelines were important in preventing unethical practices that might bring short-term profits at the expense of the long-term reputation of a company.

As a rule, CRD officers approach all newly listed companies within three months of their listing to provide integrity training for their staff and help the companies review their codes of conduct to prevent corruption and other malpractices. So far, more than 1,000 listed companies were visited by the ICAC. Over 60 per cent of them have adopted such services.

Recently, the CRD has issued an updated toolkit for directors that features the latest ethical requirements and case studies.

Mr Richard Vuylsteke, a member of the BEDAC and president of The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said high ethical standards and less corruption were reasons for Hong Kong to remain attractive to international investors.

Good ethical standards can help the production process to run smoothly and match the best international standards. Thus, having good ethical practices was not just something nice to do, but it was a must for directors to run their businesses, Mr Vuylsteke added.

Executive chef and frozen meat supplier sentenced for bribery

Two recent ICAC cases illustrate that bribery does not bring business or profits.

In the first case, an executive chef of a restaurant was responsible for selecting food suppliers and placing orders with them. Upon the chef's recommendation, the proprietor of the restaurant agreed to place purchase orders for shark fin, canned abalone and dried abalone with a dried seafood supplier.

On two occasions in June 2011, the executive chef respectively accepted $500 and $10,000 in cash from the supplier as rewards for recommending its products to the restaurant proprietor and placing purchase orders.

The executive chef was subsequently charged with accepting the advantages. He pleaded guilty and was jailed for four months.

In another case, a frozen meat supplier was found having offered advantages, including various merchandises he supplied and red packets with an approximate value of $5,650, to the head chef of a restaurant as rewards for maintaining business relationship between July 2011 and July 2013.

The supplier was prosecuted for bribing the head chef. After pleading guilty to the charge, the supplier was sentenced to 240 hours of community service.

Graft prevention package for catering industry

The training package comprises a Best Practice Checklist and short videos. Hong Kong is internationally acclaimed for its culinary excitement, offering an endless array of local and international cuisines to fascinate every palate. The catering industry, therefore, plays an important role in the city's economy.

There are currently about 16,000 restaurants in Hong Kong, employing more than 240,000 employees. To sustain the healthy development of the industry, it is imperative for catering operators to maintain a high standard of professionalism and adopt good practices in their operations.

Against this background, the ICAC's Corruption Prevention Department (CPD) has joined forces with five major trade associations of the industry to promote a training package to help practitioners guard against corruption risks.

The ICAC joins hands with major trade associations of the catering industry to launch the graft prevention training package. The training package comprises short videos featuring four common vulnerable areas in a catering business, namely purchasing, inventory control, frontline and sales operations, and staff administration. The package also contains a Best Practice Checklist with corruption preventive measures.

About 150 industry practitioners received the training package at a seminar on August 5 this year. The package will also be introduced to vocational training institutions as a teaching tool for catering-related programmes.

For further information, please contact the CPD's Advisory Services Group, which provides free, confidential and tailor-made corruption prevention services to private companies upon request:

Hotline: 2526 6363 E-mail: asg@cpd.icac.org.hk

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