Nairobi — Kenya is among countries where multinational companies bribe their way to do business.

A report by Transparency International dubbed "Bribery Payers Index 2006" (BPI) released on Wednesday said prominent international companies often handed out bribes to stay in business in Africa.

BPI ranked 30 of the leading exporting countries according to the propensity of firms with headquarters within their border to bribe when operating abroad.

Transparency International regional director for Africa and the Middle East, Mr Casey Kelso, said about 40 per cent of foreign investment space was secured through bribes.

"Developed countries bribe abroad because they know that they can easily get away with it because the laws are too weak to prosecute them," Kelso said.

He said foreign companies offer money to smaller organisation when transacting business because they do not have the might to report this when the deal turns sour.

Top on the list of notorious bribers include: Taiwan, Turkey, Russia, China and India. South Africa has been singled out as increasingly adopting the habit of offering money to other African countries.

Others, which follow closely, are Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Malaysia.

Those least likely to bribe are Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Austria, Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, United States and Japan.

Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates, France, Portugal and Mexico fall among countries that do not bribe.

The report is based on responses of 11,232 business executives from companies in 125 countries about the practice of foreign firms operating in their countries.

It is part of the World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey 2006.