India: The new land of opportunities

 

“It’s an exciting time to be in India and do this kind of work,” says the environment policy and political science graduate from Yale University, in the US. She works on international climate change policy, US-India relations and much more. In 2008, the 22-year-old attended an on-campus lecture by Teri director general RK Pachauri, and decided to work in India. A US citizen, she landed in Delhi the same year with a two-year contract, and has been here since.

That was also the year, when Polish national Kataryzna, 25, arrived for an internship with Delhi-based Bird Group, a diversified conglomerate working in travel and technology. With a master’s in international business from Warsaw University, Kataryzna helped Bird Information Systems (BIS), a group subsidiary, foray into Latin America and Russia within a year, selling airline inventory and reservation system solutions. “I speak Russian, Polish, French and Spanish, so it worked out for me,” she says, having snagged the job after just a year of internship. She travelled to and from Europe — a market she was familiar with — and added substantially to the client list, enabling the first-ever international division within the company.

The company has now recruited two more interns from Peru and Russia, to focus on the new markets. “A local understands the market dynamics better,” says Kataryzna, who is now project leader for corporate and strategic alliance, IT systems, for BIS’ international markets. And loves it in India.

Holden and Kataryzna are part of a growing number of expatriates who come to India to intern or look for jobs, and stay back because of better opportunities.

Teri has seen the number of its expat interns jump from 13 in 2008, to 24 in 2009 and possibly they will have 26 this year. Students from some of the best colleges across the globe — Cambridge in the UK, the Ivy League in America — have been coming here to work in climate change and sustainable development. “These are hot issues today, globally. Job options for professionals from this field are increasing, and so is interest among students,” says Geetika Sharma, senior manager, HR, at Teri.

IT education company Educomp has seen 40 interns in the past two years, from countries as varied as the UK and the US, to Sri Lanka and Poland, wanting to work in an ‘emerging economy’. “The trend indicates that interest among young foreigners is only growing,” says Educomp senior VP (HR & administration) Venkatesh MS. A senior home ministry official adds: “The number of expats, including freshers, coming for work here in 2008-09 went up by 15% over the previous years.”

The International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management (AIESEC), the world’s largest youth organisation that conducts student exchange across the globe, too, has evidence for this. The number of exchanges went from 1,015 in 2007, to 1,713 in the first six months of 2010. Of this, 1,443 are expats. “Earlier, it was only the social sector that attracted foreigners. Post recession, corporate India is getting more attention,” says Preetika Rana, VP, communication, AIESEC. (Economic Times / 9 Aug 2010, 0505 hrs IST,Shreya Biswas,ET Bureau)

 no.4* 08.09.10








Sharing knowledge is power :)

RP investment promotion

Promoting U.S. Investment in R.P.

Manila Bulletin / Aug 3, 2010

Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo met with United States Ambassador Harry K. Thomas at the Board of Investments on July 29, 2010, to discuss more US investments and Philippine export. The Secretary outlined key initiatives of the Department on improving the country’s business environment, engaging with more partners in trade agreements, protecting consumers, and assisting viable SMEs.

___________________

New BoI chief sets aggressive sales, marketing campaigns for investments
By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT

Manila Bulletin / August 3, 2010, 5:08pm

The Board of Investments (BoI) will embark on aggressive sales and marketing campaigns starting with the US and Japan this year to attract more foreign investors, particularly in the business process outsourcing and light industries sectors.

This was bared by newly installed DTI undersecretary for trade and investments Cristino L. Panlilio to reporters while on his way to his oath-taking ceremony in Malacañang on Tuesday.

The BoI is the government’s premier investment promotion agency. It administers the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), an annual list of preferred economic areas that would be entitled to government incentive package such as income tax holiday, preferential duty on the importation of capital equipment, additional tax deduction on labor and training expenses, employment of foreign nationals, among others.

According to Panlilio, the first investment campaign salvo by the new administration would be in the U.S. in September this year in time for President Aquino’s visit to Washington.

 No. 3*08/04/10

Sharing knowledge is power :)

Inside Asia

I.M.F. Turns on the Charm in Asia

By ALAN WHEATLEY New York Times / Published: July 19, 2010

BEIJING — That warm glow and soft purring emanating from South Korea was the International Monetary Fund trying, yet again, to put the Asian financial crisis behind it. The I.M.F. needs Asia on its side. As the fastest-growing part of the world economy, the region will wield increasing clout at global institutions like the I.M.F. and provide more of their financing.

The problem, to put it bluntly, is that Asia does not need the I.M.F. — or even like the I.M.F., whose invasive policy prescriptions are blamed in the region for having exacerbated the 1997-1998 meltdown. 

_____________ 

 With Asian Industry Astir, More Job-Seekers Go East

By Bettina Wassener New York Times / Published: July 27, 2010  

HONG KONG — Before the global financial crisis, many in the west had not thought seriously about moving to Asia. But growth in China, India, South Korea and many other countries in the region is outpacing that of Europe and the United States. Many local companies are enjoying rapid expansion, while international employers are shifting positions to Asia and are hiring again. So increasingly, European and American job seekers are hoping that Asia is a place where opportunities match their ambitions.

Sharing knowledge is power :)  ____________________ No.2 * 08.04.10

Materials R & D at Sandugo Trade Expo 2010

One of the country’s longest running annual provincial trade fairs unrolled the first output of the Materials Research and Development Project on July 21-25 at the Island City Mall.

Sandugo Trade Expo 2010 not just highlighted the region’s unique products and services but also made use of local ingenuity. Spotlight was shown on locally made crafts using mixed media and new design patterns, a result of the Materials R&D Project which assists raffia weavers in Bohol.



By mixed media applications, the weavers have experimented with recycled materials, buri, abaca, old plastic twine mixed together with raffia and other indigenous materials.


From these hand-wovens, select exporter companies convert them into actual products.

Around 80 exhibitors from the tourism, food, fashion accessories, crafts, Gifts, Toys and Housewares in Central Visayas participated in the Sandugo Trade Expo.

The fair also featured a raw materials gallery to afford buyers and product designers with a plethora of materials to use.

Emerging tourist destinations in the region were likewise showcased with packaged tours that were readily available at the booths.

As in the past, there were guest exhibitors from other regions during the Sandugo trade fair. 

The Sandugo Trade Expo is a culmination of a series of product development initiatives geared towards improving the quality and design of the export oriented crafts and ethnic food in the region. 

Bohol’s annual Sandugo trade expo has been running every July for the last twenty one years.  This fair is one of the longest running annual provincial trade fair in the country and it has already established name recall and recognition among local and international buyers.
________
No. 1 * 08.04.10