Multinationals perceive corruption is getting worse in the Philippines and Thailand but is declining elsewhere in Asia, a report released yesterday shows. India, China and Indonesia and Vietnam still had high levels of corruption but their governments were seen to be making headway in fighting the problem, according to a survey by a Hong Kong-based think-tank, Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. China is making the most progress, it said.

The survey respondents were 96 executives of multinationals and banks with regional responsibilities for Asia. Among 12 Asian economies covered, managers cited corruption as worst in Indonesia, followed by Vietnam, then the Philippines and India. In the Philippines they worried that well-placed officials appeared to brush aside accusations that corruption was a problem. In Thailand corruption seemed to be intensifying in some ways, they said, even though direct bribes, concessions and favours might be less of a problem now.

?Instead the authorities change laws and regulations and practices, replacing them with new arrangements that benefit certain large industries and businesses, many of which happen to have close links with influential politicians,? the consultancy said. Among developed economies in Asia, corruption was seen as the biggest problem in Taiwan, followed by South Korea. In both cases corruption was largely in the form of weak corporate governance, fraud and white collar crime rather than political corruption although that did exist as well. Corruption was rated most under control in Singapore and Hong Kong.