Fighting corruption

According to the World Bank's latest Worldwide Governance Indicators report, a significant number of countries are making good progress in improving governance and fighting corruption - two fundamental factors for long-term economic growth and reduction of poverty.

Karina Litvack, head of Governance and Sustainable Investment at F&C said she welcomes this report as it highlights the significance of governance and corruption as investment value drivers. She said: "Corruption is a major source of investment risk. Companies involved in corruption can be faced with high costs and disruption caused by enforcement actions. This could lead to loss of clients as well as reputation damage, therefore damaging shareholder value."

The report, titled "Governance Matters, 2007", is based on 10 years of research, and shows that some southern African economies are making significant progress towards the adoption of good governance, while many emerging economies across the world are catching up with the richest countries in terms of their governance practices. However it also indicates some countries have shown little improvement over the last decade, with standards having deteriorated in others.