Private sector keen to fight against corruption

BANGKOK, May 25 (TNA) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission has found that about 200 companies are joining forces to fight against corruption, showing a positive sign. SEC Secretary-General Rapee Sucharitakul told a seminar on anti-corruption roles of the private sector that about 200 companies had already announced their determination to reject all forms of corruption and would install systems to watch out for and address any factor that could lead to corruption. The SEC Secretary-General said the duty to tackle corruption belonged not only to any specific organisations but also to all people. He said that family businesses formed as much as 70 per cent of listed companies and they were facing the challenge of applying corporate governance. Only 10 per cent of family businesses succeeded in their third generation and only 1 per cent of them did so in the fourth generation, Mr Rapee said. The owners of the successful businesses did not consider corporate governance as a regulation but viewed it as what should be followed, he said. Mr Rapee also said that investors were interested in companies with corporate governance. He added that the Asian Corporate Governance Association would arrive in Thailand for evaluation in July. (TNA)