Business corruption
According to the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009, the major constraint on foreign companies operating in Bangladesh is corruption, followed by inefficient government bureaucracy, policy instability, inadequate infrastructure and inadequate access to financing. Corruption is present in most interactions with public authorities. According to the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2007, 85% of the companies surveyed expect to pay unofficial payments to 'get things done', while 55% identify corruption as a major constraint for doing business. Small and medium sized companies suffer most from corruption, as they devote proportionately more resources and time than larger companies to paying bribes and dealing with regulations. When bribes are measured as a share of costs by company size, the level of unofficial payments by the smallest companies (below 50 employees) is nearly five times the level paid by large companies (with over 159 employees). Private sector corruption is also widespread. While laws on disclosure of assets and conflict of interest exist, they are rarely enforced. Significant parts of the state budget (including state owned companies) remain outside legislative control. Former government employees or politically active persons often lead trade and business associations. According to the Transparency International Bangladesh Household Survey 2005, the private sector is highly corrupt in the country. While private public sector corruption is illegal, business-to-business corruption is not. Audits cannot always be trusted, as auditors rarely conform to international standards and are known to produce reports according to the wishes of the client.
Finally, institutions like TIB play a role against corruption. So, we need to facilitate their functioning.
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