Thorough sweep: ICAC conducted 237 computer data analyses and probed 7,789 financial transactions from January to September.

The number of corruption reports concerning the private sector from January to September fell 9% from a year earlier to 1,463, with 40% related to building management, the ICAC says.

Among these 1,463 reports, 9% concerned finance and insurance, 7% catering and entertainment, 6% construction and 5% transport and related services. The remaining 33% were related to other industries.

In the latest issue of ICAC Post on the commission's website, ICAC Director of Investigation Francis Lee pointed out globalisation and rapid advances in information technology have made private sector cases increasingly sophisticated. The number of corruption reports involving the private sector accounted for 59% of the 2,461 cases received in the first nine months of this year.

"To enhance our investigative edge, we have further strengthened the capability of our Financial Investigation and Computer Forensics Sections in handling complex cases," he said.

The commission probed 7,789 financial transactions from January to September, involving $5.1 billion in total, and conducted 237 computer data analyses.

Level playing field

ICAC strives to maintain a level playing field for businesses through a double-barrel strategy in vigorously fighting corruption in both the public and private sectors. This dual approach is strongly advocated by the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which came into force late last year.

In recent years, corruption reports concerning the private sector have recorded a 6% drop, from 2,403 in 2002 to 2,247 last year. In the past three years, more than 4,200 training talks were held for over 20,000 managerial and 100,000 frontline staff of major corporations, multinational firms, Mainland-funded companies and small and medium-sized enterprises.

In view of globalisation and closer economic ties with the Mainland, ICAC will launch a corruption prevention guidebook on cross-boundary operations for the banking and financial sectors, and an information package on local anti-bribery laws and services for new investors in Hong Kong.