Handover crime upsurge feared

A senior risk management figure says a possible upsurge in corruption in Hong Kong beyond the handover is a serious concern.

He said companies could do much to avoid the problems.

Stephen Vickers, senior managing director of Kroll Associates (Asia) - which advises a number of large foreign corporations operating in the territory - said the biggest concern for the future of most foreign multinationals in Hong Kong was corruption.

Part of this concern was driven by worries about corruption in certain parts of the mainland, he said. Concerns had also been raised by a significant increase in triad activity - which had spread to big business during the past five years from its previous smaller-scale power base, he said.

This was particularly the case in certain businesses which derive 'lots of cash from lots of outlets'. Areas which had experienced significant triad involvement recently included the construction, movie and entertainment businesses.

Foreign multinationals in such areas were concerned about triad involvement, because of factors like the leakage of information, he said.