The Private Sector Collective Action Coalition against Corruption (CAC) plans to approach the real sector, particularly local construction firms, to sign up as members in a relentless effort to clean up corruption.
Secretary Bandid Nijathaworn yesterday said only foreign construction firms are currently CAC members.
The CAC is a joint effort of eight leading private-sector groups.
The real sector produces goods and services using raw materials and other production factors as opposed to the financial sector, which includes banks, investment funds, insurance companies and real estate.
Yesterday the CAC yesterday signed agreements with 51 local insurance firms to make them the coalition's newest members, raising the total number of member companies to 225. The signing was aimed at showing the private sector does not want corruption, said Mr Bandid, adding that removing corruption will reduce costs for both businesses and consumers.
Corruption in Thailand has intensified over the past two years to an urgent level, a CAC survey released last month showed.
The poll of 1,066 executives in Thailand was conducted from January-April, with 75% saying corruption has increased rapidly and 93% putting corruption at a high or very high level. Some 63% said corruption has a very high impact on business, while 54% said it raises the cost of doing business by more than 10%.