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Telecom companies start recruiting ahead of Myanmar license announcement
Digicel, who is also in the running, is already accepting applicants.
“We now started accepting job applications for our company
They seem pretty confidant that they will receive a licence
Competition between foreign telecom companies intensified as many begin recruiting local employees less than a week before Myanmar‘s government is due to announce the winners of two lucrative operating licenses.
Experts say that this is one of the most competitive international bids in what is regarded as one of the world’s last untapped mobile markets. The government is expected to announce the two winners on June 27.
“We will employ local and foreign workers fifty-fifty at the beginning. Later there will be more local employees at our company but monthly salaries for them will be according to the national rules,” said Andy Chong of Axiata Group, one Asia’s biggest telecom companies.
Although many foreign companies in the bidding for the two mobile licenses have started recruiting, qualified professionals in Myanmar are scarce. Digicel, who is also in the running, is already accepting applicants.
“We now started accepting job applications for our company. We will choose those who meet our required qualifications,” said an official from Digicel.
Singapore‘s Singtel, who has teamed up with Myanmar partners KBZ and M-Tel, are also seeking employees. Though other bidders have yet to start recruiting, many companies have been promising jobs for Myanmar workers.
Global Innovation Index 2012 (GII)
Top 10 Leaders in overall innovation performance as per the Global Innovation Index are:
The list of overall GII top 10 performers has changed little from last year. Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore are followed in the top ten by Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, and the United States of America. Canada is the only country leaving the top 10 this year, mirroring weakening positions on all main GII innovation input and output pillars. The report shows that the U.S.A. continues to be an innovation leader but also cites relative shortfalls in areas such as education, human resources and innovation outputs as causing a drop in its innovation ranking.
Top 10 Leaders in the Global Innovation Index
Switzerland
Sweden
Singapore
Finland
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Denmark
Hong Kong (China)
Ireland
United States of America
1. Switzerland
2. Sweden
3. Singapore
4. Finland
5. United Kingdom
6. Netherlands
7. Denmark
8. Hong Kong (China)
9. Ireland
10. United States of America
Household charge splits Westport Town Council
THERE are no figures available for compliance with the household charge in Westport, though the overall rate for the county stands at around 69 per cent. Those who have not paid the €100 household charge as of yet will find they are now liable for €126, and this will rise to €127 from next week. That was the message from Westport Town Council last week, where councillors debated the much-maligned tax.
The council executive continued to insist that the charge must be paid if local authority services are to remain unaffected, but the debate spilled into the political domain, and there was disagreement among councillors on the issue.
Fine Fáil councillor Margaret Adams said that Environment Minister Phil Hogan had made a ‘hames’ of the whole household charge initiative, and she asked why no bills had been sent out, even to those that had not yet made payment.
Cllr Martin Keane became untypically irate and demanded to know what people ‘who just cannot afford to pay it’ are supposed to do. He had a swipe at Mayo County Council’s senior management, demanding to know what the money would be spent on, before answering his own question by stating, ‘the manager and officials off to the States, that’s what.’
Cllr Myles Staunton took umbrage at this and rebuked Cllr Keane, calling his words a ‘cheap shot’, while Cathaoirleach Ollie Gannon said it was not right to go down the road of criticising people that were not present. Cllr Staunton went on to say that he believed areas of the county that had paid more should not be punished in the same way as those that had paid less.
Town Manager Martin Keating said that the council had begun contacting some households in relation to the charge, where their databases had showed an outstanding liability. He said the household charge is a self-declaration collection and there are no waivers for it, though he said some people would be exempt from paying it. He said there are criteria and rules governing the charge and the council have staff to deal with queries on it.
