Certification for 27 more companies

Thailand’s private sector Collective Action Coalition against Corruption (CAC) has certified 27 more companies that enacted policies and compliance standards to prevent corruption, bringing the total number of certified companies to 227.

The number of private companies declaring their opposition to corruption has reached 817. After declaring their anti-corruption intention with the CAC, companies are obliged to apply for certification within 18 months, with renewal every three years. Some 26 firms were recently re-certified.

“It is particularly interesting to see companies in the real sector such as property developers and contractors applying for and receiving certification. This demonstrates that even in sectors seen as prone to corruption risk, there are still companies that emphasise the significance of an anti-corruption mechanism and are ready to conduct transparent business as an example. This intention should be complimented,” said Bandid Nijathaworn, CAC secretary-general.

Private companies join the CAC voluntarily. The CAC only certifies that companies have put in place an anti-corruption policy and compliance standard, but does not certify the behaviour of corporate personnel.

The CAC was founded in 2010 to bring effective anti-corruption policies and mechanisms into implementation by businesses.

The coalition focuses specifically on the private sector and works closely with the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand.

The CAC’s members include the eight leading private sector organisations comprising the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, the Thai Listed Companies Association, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations, the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Tourism Council of Thailand, and the Thai Institute of Directors Association, which serves as the secretariat and takes a leading role in driving the programme.