y

Latvia to join OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

Latvia has taken an important step on the road to OECD membership by completing the process to become a member of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Latvia will become the 41st Party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 30 May 2014.




y

Pooling of Institutional Investors Capital – Selected Case Studies in unlisted equity infrastructure

This G20 report looks at the evolution of private institutional investment in infrastructure and examines how the market has developed; analyses various investment vehicles with a snapshot of the growth experienced in the market; categorises methods used for investing in infrastructure; and, highlights the challenges and barriers to investment.




y

7th Forum on responsible mineral supply chains

This meeting provided the opportunity to review and discuss implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism. Issues pertinent to the tin, tantalum and tungsten (3Ts) and gold supply chains were addressed during the three-day forum.




y

Mongolia should persist with systematic anti-corruption reforms

Mongolia should persist with systematic reforms in its struggle against corruption, says a new report by the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan (IAP).




y

Communiqué by participants at the 7th ICGLR-OECD-UN Group of Experts Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains

Participants at the forum adopted a communiqué calling for companies to confront challenges they encounter openly and transparently by publicly reporting on due diligence in accordance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas




y

Southeast Asia Investment Policy Perspectives

The Southeast Asian region has the potential to attract significant amounts of international investment in the coming years. To help ASEAN countries address the challenges that arise from an increased openness to investment, this report analyses the region's investment climate and suggests ways to bring about a greater convergence of both policies and outcomes for the countries involved.




y

Estonia needs to promptly address rising foreign bribery risks, says OECD

Estonia’s framework for combating foreign bribery may be inadequate to efficiently tackle rising foreign bribery risks resulting from its increasingly export-intensive economy.




y

Slovenia must urgently prioritise the fight against foreign bribery, says OECD

Serious steps must be taken by Slovenia to ensure that it effectively detects, investigates and prosecutes allegations of transnational bribery.




y

Statement of OECD Working Group on Bribery on Spain’s efforts to amend its Penal Code and to enforce its foreign bribery offence

The OECD Working Group on Bribery supports Spain’s efforts to further reform its Penal Code to bring its anti-bribery law into line with its international obligations under the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.




y

Statement of OECD on Japan’s Efforts to Increase Foreign Bribery Enforcement

Due to serious concerns about the extremely low level of enforcement of Japan’s offence of bribing foreign public officials – just three prosecutions since 1999 – the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommended in December 2013 that Japan establish an Action Plan to organise police and prosecution resources to be able to proactively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of foreign bribery by Japanese companies.




y

Moving beyond rhetoric: Responsibility in practice

This Global Forum plays an important role as the tool for on-going dialogue on responsible business conduct. I am pleased to announce that today, Ministers from over 20 countries are coming together to discuss how to integrate responsibility considerations throughout government policies. Their work will contribute to protect internationally recognised fundamental rights and to ensure good governance, fair regulations, and transparency.




y

Statement by the National Contact Points for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises - One Year After Rana Plaza

This statement was adopted by National Contact Points on 25 June 2014 during their 15th Meeting.




y

Fact finding survey on investment treaty law, sustainable development responsible business conduct

This survey was presented at the Informal ministerial meeting on responsible business conduct held in Paris on 26 June 2014.




y

The Policy Framework for Investment in Agriculture

The Policy Framework for Investment in Agriculture is a flexible tool which helps governments evaluate their investment policies in the ten areas essential to creating an attractive environment for investors and in enhancing the development benefits of agricultural investment.




y

OECD-AfDB seminar on addressing policy impediments to private investment in African infrastructure

This seminar investigated how changes made in key policy areas at national, regional and international levels can help generate more and better private investment in Africa’s infrastructure.




y

Blog: Building a case for green private investment by Simon Upton

If we are to meet the goal of keeping global warming to 2 degrees, governments need to engage now to get on the right track to achieve zero‑net greenhouse emissions from combustion of fossil fuels in the second half of this century. Given the urgency of doing so, why does our dependence on fossil fuels appear to be unshaken?




y

Despite progress made and improved legal framework, OECD seriously concerned about Turkey’s level of detection and investigation of foreign bribery

Turkey is a significant and geopolitically critical economy. Its companies, like those from many other countries, operate in corruption-prone sectors and countries. In spite of this, only 10 allegations have come to the attention of Turkish authorities since foreign bribery became an offence in Turkey in 2003.




y

Statement of the OECD Working Group on Bribery on France’s implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention

After a comprehensive review in October 2012, the OECD Working Group on Bribery asked France, through a series of concrete recommendations, to intensify its actions to fight the bribery of foreign public officials and undertake important reforms.




y

Kazakhstan must sharpen its strategy and raise impact of its anti-corruption measures

Kazakhstan’s new anti-corruption strategy must be better defined, involving key stakeholders, with targeted actions and goals that address the key corruption challenges facing the country, says a new OECD report by the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan (IAP).




y

Brazil closes legal loophole on foreign bribery: OECD hopes this will now translate into stepped up enforcement

Brazil must build on the positive momentum started with its new Corporate Liability Law and its first indictments in one foreign bribery case to investigate and prosecute more proactively foreign bribery.




y

Public consultation on updating the Policy Framework for Investment

This public consultation was held to gather interested stakeholders' comments on the draft chapters of the Policy Framework for Investment currently being updated. The consultation ran until 31 December 2014.




y

8th Forum on responsible mineral supply chains

This meeting provided the opportunity to review and discuss implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism, and other initiatives to enable responsible mineral supply chains. Issues pertinent to the tin, tantalum and tungsten (3Ts) and gold supply chains were also addressed during the Forum.




y

International investment in Europe: A canary in the coal mine?

Global FDI flows collapsed with the global financial crisis in 2008 and remain 40% below pre-crisis levels. A major reason for this is the EU. While FDI flows in the rest of the world recovered by 2010, the EU continues to struggle due to structural factors that are undermining the quality of the EU’s investment environment. The paper analyses why and puts forward policy options. It is part of the Investment Insights series.




y

How world trade can spur a recovery

A little over a year ago the OECD and the World Trade Organization (WTO) launched Trade in Value-Added (TiVA), a new database on trade measured in value-added terms. The evidence that we have unlocked using TiVA has begun to revolutionise our understanding of what is happening in global trade, investment and production.




y

Scale of international bribery laid bare by new OECD report

Most international bribes are paid by large companies, usually with the knowledge of senior management, according to new OECD analysis of the cost of foreign bribery and corruption.




y

Launch of the OECD Foreign Bribery Report

The OECD Foreign Bribery Report was launched by the OECD Secretary-General in Paris on 2 December 2014. This ground breaking report analyses data emerging from all foreign bribery enforcement actions concluded since the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and for the first time ‘measures’ the crime of corruption.




y

Public consultation on Phase 4 monitoring of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

The OECD Working Group on Bribery invited public comments on the next phase of country monitoring under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention between 5 November and 1 December 2014. The call for comment is now closed.




y

International Anti-Corruption Day - 2014

As part of the International Anti-Corruption Day, the OECD has joined Member and Partner countries and other International Organisations in raising awareness about the costs and detrimental effects of corruption.




y

Consultation on Phase 4 monitoring of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, this Working Group on Bribery consultation with the private sector and civil society focused on the development of the Phase 4 evaluation process of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.




y

2014 ASEAN-OECD Conference on investment policy in Southeast Asia

This conference showcased ASEAN’s regional investment integration achievements and efforts. Practitioners highlighted policy reforms at the national and regional levels and considered practical measures to enhance integration. Ways to successfully attract investment that will strengthen ASEAN supply chains were identified.




y

Argentina seriously non-compliant with key articles of Anti-Bribery Convention, says OECD

The OECD Working Group on Bribery doubts Argentina’s commitment to fight foreign bribery. Argentina still has no law to punish companies for foreign bribery or prosecute its citizens who commit this crime abroad. Widespread delays continue to plague complex economic crime investigations.




y

France - OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

This page contains all information relating to implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in France.




y

Infrastructure versus other investments in the global economy and stagnation hypotheses: What do company data tell us?

“Why do financial institutions and investors see so little risk, while companies investing in the real economy see so much risk?” This is perhaps the most important question facing policy makers today. This paper sets out some of the possible hypotheses for lack of investment in the world economy. It uses data drawn from 10 000 global companies in 75 advanced and emerging countries.




y

Escaping the Stagnation Trap: Policy Options for the Euro Area and Japan

The global economy continues to run at low speed and many countries, particularly in Europe, seem unable to overcome the legacies of the crisis. With high unemployment, high inequality and low trust still weighing heavily, it is imperative to swiftly implement reforms that boost demand and employment and raise potential growth.




y

Survey on the contribution of SMEs to due diligence for responsible mineral supply chains

The German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), supported by the OECD, has initiated a study to assess the contribution of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to due diligence for responsible mineral supply chains. To gather information for this study, SMEs were invited to take part on a confidential survey of due diligence activities by SMEs.




y

The Dark Horse, The Paper Tiger and Chicken Little: Lessons from the OECD Foreign Bribery Report

One of the more startling findings in the OECD Foreign Bribery Report, is that some level of corporate management was involved in over 50% of the cases sanctioned. This paper by Leah Ambler, published in the Journal of Business Compliance (01/2015), examines what went wrong and why from a corporate governance and compliance perspective.




y

Public consultation on the FAO-OECD guidance for responsible agricultural supply chains

This public consultation was held to gather comments on the draft FAO-OECD guidance for responsible agricultural supply chains which is designed to help enterprises observe standards of responsible business conduct along their agricultural supply chains. The deadline for comment was 20 February 2015.




y

2nd Online public consultation on updating the Policy Framework for Investment

This online public consultation was held to gather interested stakeholders' comments on the draft Policy Framework for Investment currently being updated. The consultation ran until 25 February 2015.




y

15th Tokyo Roundtable on Capital Market and Financial Reform in Asia

This roundtable offers a forum for regulators, policy-makers, experts, practitioners, scholars and international organisations to discuss issues relating to capital market reform in Asia.




y

Conference on Investment Treaties: Policy Goals and Public Support

Paris, 16 March 2015: Organised by the OECD-hosted Freedom of Investment Roundtable, this conference assessed opportunities and challenges associated with investment treaties and how the system can be improved.




y

Greece should tackle not only domestic corruption but also foreign bribery

The risk of Greek companies bribing foreign officials is substantial, but Greece has not given the same priority to fighting foreign bribery as it has to domestic corruption.




y

OECD Integrity Forum 2015

Integrity Week is an annual event organised by the OECD and its CleanGovBiz Initiative to actively support governments and organisations in their efforts to strengthen integrity, build trust, and fight corruption.




y

Kyrgyzstan must implement anti-corruption policies and laws to reduce corruption

Widespread corruption continues to be a major challenge for Kyrgyzstan’s development, despite efforts to streamline its anti-corruption policy and strengthen the institutional framework since 2012.




y

Ukraine must enforce its new anti-corruption strategy and legislation

Widespread corruption was one of the main reasons that led to the change of the political regime in Ukraine in 2014. The new administration pledged to fight corruption, a challenging task in the current context of the economic crisis and military conflict in the East of the country.




y

Asia-Pacific conference on aligning corporate sustainability with sustainable development goals

With a focus on the Asia-Pacific region, this conference addressed what the Sustainable Development Goals will mean for business and how business sustainability strategies can be aligned to support their implementation.




y

Investment and inequality: Stock markets for whom?

The world economy desperately needs more productive investment: to create jobs, to increase productivity and to meet critical global goals like combating climate change. But instead of more productive investment, we are getting rising stock markets. Sadly too many policymakers and journalists don’t know the difference.




y

Investment in clean energy: A worthwhile goal - Insights Blog

Most of us would agree that clean energy is a worthwhile goal, and the world has invested more than $2 trillion on renewable-energy plants in the past decade. But are we doing enough?




y

Overcoming barriers to international investment in clean energy, Investment Insights - June 2015

Protectionism and local content requirements are holding back investment in clean energy and thus undermining the fight against climate change. This Investment Insights puts forward policy options for mobilising investment in clean energy and restoring order and confidence in international markets.




y

Liability of Legal Persons for Corruption in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

This cross-country report analyses the legislation on liability of legal persons for corruption and its enforcement in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, highlighting national practices that may be promoted as good practice. While it focuses on 25 countries participating in the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN), examples from OECD countries are also included.




y

OECD Working Group on Bribery report on Israel launches Wednesday 24 June 2015

The OECD Working Group on Bribery will release a review of Israel’s efforts to fight foreign bribery on Wednesday 24 June 2015 at 11.00 CET.