Private anti-graft body certifies 24 more firms

The CAC council on October 3 certified an additional 24 companies, which self-assessed that they had installed policies and internal mechanisms to prevent corruption as per criteria set by the coalition.

CAC secretary-general Bandid Nijathaworn said the continuous rise in the number of certified companies was clear evidence that Thai corporates were actively turning anti-corruption commitment into practice. 

Moreover, increasing anti-corruption momentum has encouraged 39 additional companies to sign declarations of intent with the CAC. Of the total, 27 are listed firms, which boosted market capitalisation of the CAC’s signatory companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand to 69 per cent of the overall market cap.

Private companies join the CAC voluntarily. By the end of the third quarter, 362 companies had declared their intention to join, including 179 listed firms and a number of world-class companies operating in Thailand.

“This is a strong indicator for good corporate governance of listed companies. The next thing is for the companies to seek certification from the CAC council once they have clear anti-corruption policies and high compliance standards in place. We also would like to see the clean business circle being extended to their suppliers and trade counterparts as well as attracting more small and medium-sized companies to join the initiative,” Bandid said. 

The 24 new companies will be formally certified at the fifth National Conference on Collective Action against Corruption, to be held next Thursday under the theme “Tackling Corruption through Public-Private Collaboration”. 

Speakers at the event will include Finance Minister Sommai Phasee, National Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Panthep Klanarongran, Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand president Pramon Sutivong, and Andrew Wilson, deputy director for strategy and programmes at the Centre for International Private Enterprise.