Singapore, 10 February 2025 — The latest edition of a biennial study conducted by the Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School revealed a decline in overall anti-corruption disclosures among ASEAN companies. These results, published in the “Corporate Disclosure on Business Integrity in ASEAN 2024” report, underscore the need for companies to enhance their disclosures of governance and business integrity, and maintain stakeholder trust.
The study evaluated the anti-corruption disclosures of the top 50 listed companies by market capitalisation in five ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The firms were assessed across three key dimensions: internal commitment to anti-corruption, external commitment to anti-corruption, and reporting and monitoring programmes.
The findings show an overall declining trend, with the average disclosure score dropping from 69% in 2022 to 64% in 2024. Thailand continues to maintain its leading position since 2022, with an average overall score of 80%, followed by Malaysia at 75% and Singapore at 63%. The Philippines experienced the largest decline, with scores falling by 11 percentage points, from 66% in 2022 to 55% in 2024. Indonesia showed improvement, with its average score rising from 44% in 2022 to 48% in 2024.
Disclosures on external commitment remain weakest
The study also found the firms’ external commitment to anti-corruption to be the weakest among the three dimensions, with an average score of 55%. This indicates a serious disclosure gap in how the companies are extending their anti-corruption policies to external stakeholders such as suppliers, representatives and agents. Indonesia-listed companies showed progress with a score of 36%, an increase from 32% in 2022 while the other four Southeast Asian countries experienced declines of two to four percentage points.
However, the companies performed the strongest in internal commitment to anti-corruption, where company leadership promotes integrity through policies, training, and top-down initiatives, with an average score of 73%. Thailand and Malaysia led with scores of 84% and 80%, respectively.
Companies across the five countries averaged 65% in reporting and monitoring, which encompasses whistleblowing policies and related mechanisms, a significant decline of 13 percentage points from 2022. Thailand performed the strongest, achieving an average score of 82%, followed by Malaysia and Singapore at approximately 71%.
Professor Lawrence Loh, Director, Centre for Governance and Sustainability, NUS Business School, said, “Corruption erodes trust, stifles economic growth, and deepens inequality. The decline in anti-corruption disclosures we are seeing across ASEAN is a red flag. As investors are increasingly prioritising ESG factors, companies must strengthen their governance disclosures to enhance transparency and accountability, not just as a matter of compliance, but as a core business strategy. By implementing and communicating anti-corruption measures clearly and strongly, companies can boost investor confidence and foster a more sustainable business environment.”
Note to editor:
About NUS Business School
The National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School is known for providing management thought leadership from an Asian perspective, enabling its students and corporate partners to leverage global knowledge and Asian insights.
The school has consistently ranked first in Asia by independent publications and agencies, such as The Financial Times, and Quacquarelli Symonds, in recognition of the quality of its programmes, faculty research and graduates.
The school is accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System), endorsements that the school has met the highest standards for business education.
Established in 2010, the Centre for Governance and Sustainability (CGS) is part of the NUS Business School. Its mission is to spearhead high-impact research on corporate governance and sustainability in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific and serves as the national assessor for the corporate sustainability and governance performance of listed companies in Singapore.
In tandem with growing demands from consumers and investors that financial returns are achieved with integrity, backed with environmental and social considerations, CGS has a slew of research focusing on sustainability reporting in Asia Pacific, sustainable banking, nature reporting, and climate reporting in ASEAN.
More information about CGS can be accessed at https://bschool.nus.edu.sg/cgs/.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Frank Chua Assistant Senior Manager, Corporate Communications NUS Business School Tel: +65 6601 2469 Email: frank.c@nus.edu.sg
Natalie Law Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications NUS Business School Tel: +65 6601 1206 Email: natalielaw@nus.edu.sg