Over the past 5 years, Fair Biz target countries have been continuously implementing regulatory reforms in pursuit of a better business environment. All six countries have secured steady improvement in their ease of doing business score, with the 5-year growth rate averaged at 10%. Check out this infographic, based on the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 report, to learn more about the six countries’ performance and reform trends.Visit doingbusiness.org for the full report and datasets.
IMPROVING PROCUREMENT TRANSPARENCY
Malaysia’s new plan to address corruption in public procurement
Malaysia’s 2019-2023 National Anti-Corruption Plan acknowledges the importance of sound public procurement systems as key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In this video, Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff, Deputy Director-General of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity & Anti-Corruption (GIACC), talks about the country’s efforts to promote integrity in public procurement. Watch the video »
UNDP Thailand partners with Private Sector Collective Action Coalition against Corruption (CAC)
UNDP and Thailand’s Private Sector Collective Action Coalition against Corruption (CAC) joined hands to conduct a survey targeting private businesses of all industries to identify the public services most prone to corruption. “The survey is not just meant to indicate major corruption pain points that private businesses want the government to tackle quickly. The CAC will also leverage our extensive global network as well as UNDP’s expertise to seek solutions, proven effective in other countries, and propose practical recommendations in the Thai context to the government,” said CAC Director Pana Ratanabanangkoon. “This effort could lead to a new form of public-private partnership in addressing corruption problems with a concrete outcome that would reduce business obstacles and eventually boost Thailand’s scores in various indicators including Ease of Doing Business and Corruption Perception Index.”More about CAC >>
Business associations lead way to promote business integrity in Vietnam In Vietnam, 11 Business Associations have officially signed the Business Integrity Pledge to uphold the core values of integrity, ethical behavior, and accountability. It is one of the key activities of the Government and Business Integrity Initiative (GBII) implemented by VCCI under the UNDP’s Regional Project “Promoting A Fair Business Environment in ASEAN”. Read more >>
The future of leadership is Gender Equal
As part of its efforts to promote business integrity and responsible business practices, UNDP has been working with a diverse group of stakeholders to make a change towards greater gender diversity and equality in the boardroom and in senior leadership of companies. To this end, UNDP has been promoting dialogue and knowledge exchange to support the creation of a Regional Action Platform for Gender Equal Leadership. The development of such Platform has been identified by participant companies as a way for them to advocate for making gender equality a central topic within the good corporate governance agenda, and as a call to action for companies of all sizes to reflect on how they could implement sustainable business practices that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. To find out more, Watch the video >>
Fair Biz Integrity Champions video series will feature interviews with 'champions' who are moving the needle towards a fairer business environment in ASEAN.
Corruption is bad for business, evidence shows that the aggregate growth and firm performance is lower in settings where corruption prevails. Manisha Dogra, Vice President Sustainability Asia, shares how the telecommunications multinational Telenor is committed to maintain a responsible business conduct as part of their business strategy.
CoST International - CoST Thailand Transparent procurement systems: good for the public, the private sector and the SDGs To achieve the ambitious task of reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, procurement systems must become ever more transparent and accountable. CoST (Infrastructure Transparency Initiative) Executive Director Petter Matthews shares his reflections after participating at the High-level Seminar on Increasing transparency and integrity in Public Procurement in the context of the SDGs. Read more »
The Mandarin New Public Management: the practical challenges, remedies and alternatives "Treating the public service like a business has become the norm, with the structures, language, practices and incentives inherited from private sector managerialism. We know that citizens don’t expect public sectors to act the same way yet when we adopt the mindset of a business we create pressure to act more like a business in everything we do." Pia Andrews reflects on her 10+ years of experience working in the public sector to write this insightful article. Read more »
Asia Foundation The Myanmar Business Environment Index 2019
The government of Myanmar has recognized the importance of private sector development, yet many enterprises across the country continue to face a challenging business environment. The Myanmar Business Environment Index 2019 report focuses on identifying the constraints affecting Myanmar’s many domestically owned small and medium-sized enterprises. Read more »
12 December | Hanoi, Vietnam Consultative Workshop “Good international experiences on anti-corruption in business activities and recommendations for Vietnam”
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports governments, private sector and civil society in building transparent and accountable institutions for sustainable development. The multi-year regional project - Promoting a fair business environment in ASEAN is implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the UK government to promote fair, transparent and predictable business environments by working with both governments and the private sector, with particular focus on Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Our mailing address is: Promoting a Fair Business Environment in ASEAN. Bangkok Regional Hub, UNDP, 3rd Floor UN Service Building, Rajdamnern Nok Ave. Bangkok, Bangkok 10200 Thailand
