"We have been getting more arguments in our favor to expose the so-called efficiency of giant corporations, the above board practices of multinational companies, and governance in these companies - that they are clean and non-corrupt", says Minar Pimple, executive director at Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action, a Mumbai-based non-governmental organization (NGO).

An Indonesian delegate asserts that critics can now point to what he called "the hidden face of capitalism".

"The U.S. corporate model has lost its legitimacy. It was not based on fairness, but one favoring the economic elite of the world", says Tito Soentoro, who heads Solidaritas Perempuan, a Jakarta-based women's human rights lobby.

Many activists here singled out the case of the failed U.S. energy giant Enron, which collapsed after an accounting and accounting scandal in the United States. Likewise, it had until its failure been considered as an "invincible" energy sector giant in India, where it was reported to have tried less than transparent ways to get a power project in Maharashtra State going.

Other high-profile U.S. corporations that have been hit this year for giving a false picture of their profitability include Xerox, Tyco, Global Crossing and WorldCom.