Companies based in emerging economies such as China, India and Russia are perceived to routinely engage in bribery’ while doing business abroad, according to Transparency International's 2008 Bribe Payers Index (BPI).

Belgium and Canada shared first place in the 2008 BPI with a score of 8.8 out of a very clean 10. indicating that Belgian and Canadian firms are seen as least likely to bribe abroad. The Netherlands and Switzerland shared third place on the index, each with a score of 8.7.

At the other end of the spectrum, Russia ranked last with a score of 5.9, just below China (6.5), Mexico (6.6) and India (6.8), said a statement.

The BPI. released on Tuesday, also shows public works and construction companies are the most corruption-prone while dealing with the public sector, and most likely to exert undue influence on the policies, decisions and practices of governments.

“The BPI provides evidence that a number of companies .from major exporting countries still use bribery to win business abroad," said Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle.

“The inequity and injustice that corruption causes make it vital for governments to redouble their efforts to enforce existing laws and regulations on foreign bribery and for companies to adopt effective anti-bribery programmes. In this spirit, all major exporting countries should commit to the provisions of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention," said Labelle.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said: “Bribe Payers Index once avain stresses that corruption is a

global problem demanding global approach."

He said it is disappointing that companies from developed countries continue to engage in bribery in developing countries taking advantage of weak institutions, laws and enforcement.

"Governments have the responsibility and moral obligation to criminalise bribery abroad, and ensure that companies strictly uphold the highest standard of integrity in their international business practice," said Zaman.

TPs 2008 BPI ranked 22 leading exporting countries by the tendency of their firms to bribe abroad. The combined global exports of goods and services and outflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) of these 22 countries represented 75 percent of the world total in 2006.

The 2008 BPI is based on the responses of 2,742 senior business executives from companies in 26 developed and developing countries, chosen by the volume of their imports and FDI inflows.

Bribe Payers Survey, which serves as the basis for the BPI, also looked at the likelihood of firms in 19 specific sectors prone to bribery. In the first of two new sectoral rankings, companies in public works contracts and construction, real estate and property development, oil and gas, heavy manufacturing. and mining w’ere seen to bribe officials most frequently.

The cleanest sectors, in terms of briber)' of public officials, were identified as information technology, fisheries, and banking and finance.

A second sectoral ranking evaluates the likelihood of companies from the 19 sectors to engage in state capture, whereby parties attempt to wield undue influence on government rules, regulations and decision-making

through private payments to public officials.

Public works contracts and construction, oil and gas, mining, and real estate and property development were seen as the sectors whose companies were most likely to use legal or illegal payments to influence the state.

The banking and finance sector is seen to perform considerably worse in terms of state capture than in willingness to bribe public officials, meaning that its companies may exert considerable undue influence on regulators, a significant finding in light of the ongoing global financial crisis.

The sectors where companies are seen as least likely to exert undue pressure on the public policy process are agriculture, fisheries and light manufacturing.

While most of the world's wealthiest countries have already subscribed to a ban on foreign bribery, under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, there is little awareness of the convention among the senior business executives interviewed in the Bribe Payers Survey.

Government&.have a key role to play in ensuring that foreign bribery is stopped at the source.

"The unfolding financial crisis has shown us just how integrated the world's markets have become. Accountability must be guaranteed across borders, include improved risk management and reach all the way down a company's supply chain,” said Cobus de Swardt, TI managing director.

"Businesses face a complex challenge, but efforts to improve labour practices, for instance, by working with intermediaries, suppliers and affiliates, show that there is no excuse to not extend anti-bribery standards globally in a similar fashion,” he added.