Expert says S'pore will be challenged by new wave of corruption
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 March 2008 2220 hrs

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SINGAPORE: A new wave of corruption will keep many developed nations on their toes, said Dr Robert Kiltgaard, a global leading expert on corruption.

Despite a push towards greater transparency in the marketplace, he said the process is getting more difficult as financial products become more complex.

Corruption exists in many forms and could plague companies and governments. It also increases the costs of doing business and affects economic development.

Dr Kiltgaard, President of Claremont Graduate University, said there are some emerging challenges that may trouble countries like Singapore.

Intellectual property is one key area.

He said: "There's a kind of post-modern corruption coming with property rights problems – copying; you take my design when it was me who invented it. I think Singapore is going to be challenged as we are in America by this new way of corruption."

As financial markets become more sophisticated, he said it makes the push towards greater transparency that much harder.

Dr Klitgaard said: "If you think about the sub-prime mortgage situation in our country, it looks like people were buying products but they didn't know what was inside the box. Nobody knew what was in there so transparency nowadays, with all these very difficult derivatives and complex portfolios, is very difficult to have."

In Asia, he cited China and Indonesia as the countries facing the greatest challenge with corruption.

He said corruption is an economic crime that can be prevented - a successful reform should aim to reduce monopoly by enhancing competition, and to limit discretion by having clearer rules and better accountability.


- CNA/so