Continental Federation Report – Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management (APFHRM) for meeting of World Federation of People Management Associations Amsterdam April 2013 APFHRM Highlights of Activities: 1. Election of APFHRM Officers for 2012-2014 Bearers

The following were elected by the APFHRM member-countries:

• President & 1st Delegate to WFPMA (2012-14): Ernesto Espinosa Philippines • South East Asia –VP:, Thailand (still subject to confirmation with PMAT) • Australasia (to be renamed Oceania) – VP: Balbeer Singh, Fiji • East Asia – VP: Rick Liu, Taiwan • Indian Sub-Continent – VP: Mohan Das, India • Gulf Region –VP: Abdulhadi Mansouri, Saudi Arabia • 2nd Delegate to the WFPMA: Peter Wilson, Australia • Immediate Past-President: Francis Mok, Hong Kong • Secretary-General & Treasurer: Lyn Goodear, Australia 2. Recent meeting in Fiji on March 14-15, 2013 and conference sponsored by the

Fiji HR Institute. The federation held its first annual meeting in 2013 in Nadi, Fiji. The following spoke during the conference:

• Mr. Ernesto G. Espinosa, President, APFHRM and Past President, PMAP, on “Building an Effective Work Culture: HR Perspective”

• Ms. Lyn Goodear, Secretary-General and Treasurer, APFHRM and CEO, AHRI, on “Big HR Issues for 2013”

• Mhd. Musharrof Hossain, President, BSHR on “Understanding HR Value Proposition” • Mr. Ram Bajekal, Group CEO, FMF Foods Limited, on “Strategic HR: CEO Perspective”

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3. Planned 3rd APFHRM Regional Conference in Goa, India on September 26-28, 2013. The federation member-countries approved unanimously that the 3rd APFHRM Regional Conference will be sponsored by the India HR Institute, led by representative R. Mohan Das. 4. Revision of the APFHRM Handbook covering the APFHRM Constitution and By-laws. The federation modified the APFHRM Handbook, formerly referred to as, APFHRM Booklet, to reflect changes in the Constitution and By-Laws, notably the expansion of the VP position to 5 covering the 5 regions of the federation (as stated above in the Office Bearers, as well as the future treatment of inactive members, and those who are unable to pay their membership dues. What follows is a summary of the country reports of attendees at the March 2013 meeting of the APFHRM in Fiji 1. Current Economic and Political Situation AUSTRALIA Economy and labour market situation The Australian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed growth of 2.9 per cent in the December2012 quarter. Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was steady at 5.4 per cent in January 2013. The number of people unemployed increased by 2,000 people to 659,600, the ABS reported. The number of people employed increased by 10,400 to 11,549,100. The job vacancies trend in November 2012 was down 2.2 per cent on the previous period and down 6.8 per cent on the corresponding period last year. The ABS reported a labour force participation rate of 65 per cent in January, a decrease of 0.1 per cent. Political situation Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced an election date for September this year so the Government is now likely to continue to operate with a hung parliament until that time. The strong Australian dollar that affects Australia’s competiveness and the reliance on China to buy our resources continue to dominate Australia’s economy. The long-term bleak economic data in the US and Europe are a backdrop that have had the effect of dampening consumer confidence. The carbon price that came into law on July 1 last year did not cause a major economic trauma, though it contributed to increasing rises in power prices for businesses and households. The price is designed to shift investment from polluting businesses to renewable energy sources. Despite the changes to asylum seeker policy last year, the numbers of people making dangerous trips by boat to seek asylum in Australia are rising and continue to contribute to a deplorable situation that appears beyond solution politically.

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In December last year the Parliament passed the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 that set up a new workplace gender agency and requires companies employing more than 100 people to report annually on gender equality in their workplace. . BANGLADESH The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite political instability, poor infrastructure, corruption, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, 45% of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector with rice as the single-most-important product. Bangladesh's growth was resilient during the 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession. Garment exports, totaling $12.3 billion in FY09 and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, totaling $11 billion in FY10, accounted for almost 12% of GDP. There is a risk of an eventual political vacuum if the ruling and the main opposition fail to find next- generation leaders and if intra-party factional rifts fail to be repaired. The military may seek to reassert its influence in the aftermath of February 2009s border guard mutiny, thus undermining democracy. There is a risk of an eventual political vacuum if the ruling and the main opposition fail to find next- generation leaders and if intra-party factional rifts fail to be repaired. Islamists could seek to exploit any extended political deadlocks to further their agenda. The intense rivalry between the two main parties - has created a highly acrimonious political scene, which has led to frequent strike action and unrest. Political parties are dominated more by personality than by policy. Bangladesh is slowly emerging on investor radars as a frontier market and considered as one of the Next Eleven big emerging markets. Economy and labour market situation According to a research it shows that the recent trends in Bangladesh’s labour markets are encouraging. Unemployment has been low, more young people are receiving higher education, more women have careers, and more high-skilled jobs are being created. The total unemployment rate was 5.1%. It is expected that the Bangladesh economy will continue to operate under full employment. These developments augur well for all Bangladeshis and keep the nation on track towards realizing Vision 2020.

Bangladesh is rapidly urbanising and highly vulnerable to natural disasters like floods and cyclones which are expected to get worse with climate change. Levels of poverty and inequality are still high, with more than four in ten people living on less than $1.25 (£ 0.77) per day and over three quarters of the population on less than $2.00 (£1 .24). Population growth is a continuing challenge, with about 150 million people living in an area the size of England and Wales. Thanks to the success of family planning programmes, more women now have a choice over whether, when and how many children they will have, and the population growth rate has slowed. But basic services like health and

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education still need to expand fast to keep pace with the young population, and the quality of these services needs to improve. One in 19 children die before they reach five years old, and around 120,000 babies die every year in their first month of life. Thirty per cent of women are undernourished and over 7,000 die each year due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Bangladesh is off track on MDG7 (access to water and sanitation). Contamination of drinking water with arsenic (from natural sources) and sea water are big challenges. The state’s ability to finance and deliver services effectively remains weak, and is hampered by unstable politics and high fiduciary risks. HONG KONG According to the preliminary data on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) released by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s economy regained momentum towards late 2012 with a 2.5% growth in the fourth quarter of 2012. The GDP growth for 2012 as a whole was 1.4%. Inflation has dropped continuously since early 2012. The inflation rate averaged at 4.7% in 2012, down from 5.3% in 2011. Meanwhile, the inflation rate in January 2013 was 3%, smaller than 3.7% recorded in December 2012. The labour market remained stable in 2012. Despite a slight rebound in the unemployment rate from its low of 3.2% in mid-year to the latest 3.4% for the period from November 2012 to January 2013, the labour market was still in a state of nearing full employment. The Hong Kong government expected a modest improvement in Hong Kong’s economy in 2013 and forecasted GDP growth of 1.5% to 3.5% for the year. This growth rate is lower than the average over the past decade and there may be some upward pressure on the unemployment rate. Meanwhile, inflation will face upward pressure. The estimated average inflation rate for 2013 is 4.2%. Hong Kong’s exports are likely to see some relative improvement, assuming no abrupt deterioration in the external environment. Domestic demand is expected to remain relatively positive, underpinned by stable labour market conditions, intensive public infrastructure works and further pick-up in private building activity. According to the Quarterly Survey on Manpower Statistics – Fourth Quarter 2012 and Year 2012 conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM), the overall turnover rate during Q4 2012 was 3.8% (weighted average), 1.2 percentage points lower than Q3 2012 (5%) but 1.4 percentage points higher than Q4 2011 (2.4%). The overall yearly average turnover rate was 17%, 2.5 percentage points higher than the figure in 2011 (14.5%). The net growth in new positions during Q4 2012 was 0.8% (weighted average), one percentage point lower than Q3 2012 (1.8%) and 0.2 percentage point higher than that in 2011 (0.6%). In 2012, an overall increase in position growth of 4.3% was recorded, slightly higher than 2011 (4.0%). Facing the situations of a volatile global economy and labour shortages in certain sectors, employers at large remain prudent in their pay strategies but at the same time have to be flexible in pay adjustments in order to retain talent for corporate development and sustainability, according to the results of the HKIHRM 2012 Pay Trend Survey. The survey covers a total of 102 companies from 17 sectors, with some 143,000 full-time salaried employees. The Guangdong Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department announced that the minimum wage levels of both full-time and part-time workers in the province will be adjusted

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upward at an average of 19.1% starting from 1 May 2013. The latest adjustment would bring the monthly salary of a general worker to 1,550 yuan in Guangzhou, 1,310 yuan for second-tier cities including Zhuhai, Foshan and Dongguan, and 1,130 yuan for third-tier cities like Shantou and Weizhou. More than ten provincial-level regions including Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangxi, Hunan and Xinjiang have applied for piloting the value-added tax reform to reduce burdens on businesses, according to officials from the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation. The reform, replacing the turnover tax with a value-added duty in transport and some service sectors, had reduced taxes of over 40 billion yuan for more than one million taxpayers in the current 12 pilot regions as of 1 February 2013. The 12 pilot regions now combine to account for half of the national economic output and 56% of the country's total tax revenue. . INDIA The economy of India is the tenth-largest in the world by nominal GDP and the third largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). India is the nineteenth largest exporter and tenth largest importer in the world. Economic growth rate stood at around 6.5% for the 2011–12 fiscal year. The independence-era Indian economy (from 1947 to 1991) was based on a mixed economy combining features of capitalism and socialism, resulting in an inward-looking, interventionist policies and import-substituting economy that failed to take advantage of the post-war expansion of trade. In 1991, India adopted liberal and free-market oriented principles and liberalized its economy to international trade under the guidance of Manmohan Singh, who then was the Finance Minister of India under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao the then Prime Minister who eliminated License Raj a pre- and post-British Era mechanism of strict government control on setting up new industry. Following these strong economic reforms, and a strong focus on developing national infrastructure such as the Golden Quadrilateral project by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then Prime Minister, the country's economic growth progressed at a rapid pace with very high rates of growth and large increases in the incomes of people. Since 1991, continuing economic liberalization has moved the country towards a market-based economy. By 2008, India had established itself as one of the world's fastest growing economies. Growth significantly slowed to 6.8% in 2008–09, but subsequently recovered to 7.4% in 2009–10, while the fiscal deficit rose from 5.9% to a high 6.5% during the same period. The unemployment rate for 2010–11, according to the state Labour Bureau, was 9.8% nationwide. As of 2011, India's public debt stood at 68.05% of GDP which is highest among the emerging economies. However, inflation remains stubbornly high with 7.55% in August 2012, the highest among its BRICS counterparts. India's large service industry accounts for 57.2% of the country's GDP while the industrial and agricultural sectors contribute 28.6% and 14.6% respectively. Agriculture is the predominant occupation in Rural India, accounting for about 52% of employment. The service sector makes up a further 34%, and industrial sector around 14%. Major industries include telecommunications, information technology, textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment,

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cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software and pharmaceuticals. The labour force totals 500 million workers. Major agricultural products include rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry and fish. In 2011–2012, India's top five trading partners are China, United Arab Emirates, United States, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. However, due to positive economic reforms aimed at deregulating the economy and stimulating foreign investment, India has positioned itself as one of the front-runners of the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region. The Advance Estimates of National Income for the year had estimated a GDP growth rate of 5.0 per cent during 2012-13 as compared to 6.2 per cent in 2011-12. Concerned over the low growth, efforts are being made by the Government of India to achieve higher growth and hoped that GDP will grow by over 6% in the next financial year. The Economic survey of India has predicted a growth rate of 6.1% to 6.7% for the next financial year i.e. 2013-2014. Indian economy is growing, despite the economic crisis that engulfed the world. the National investment rate is around 33-34 per cent, and is expected to increase to 36 per cent by the end of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17). India has been adjourned the fifth best country in the world for dynamic growing businesses, as per the Grant Thornton Global Dynamism Index. The index gives a reflection of how suitable an environment the country offers for dynamic businesses. Indian tax climate was also considered to be reasonably favourable and India continued to be an attractive investment destination in the World. Survey revealed that, India is expected to be the second largest manufacturing country in the next five years, followed by Brazil as the third ranked country. Indian infrastructure landscape would attract investments worth Rs. 49,000 billion (US$ 904.05 billion) during the 12th Five Year Plan period (2012-17), with at least 50 per cent funding from the private sector, as per Government's projections. It is also predicted that India's GDP growth in 2013-14 will be supported by the revival of private sector consumption growth aided by higher growth in agriculture, high government spending and lower interest rates. Labour market Two-third of India’s workforce is employed in agriculture and rural industries. One-third of rural households are agricultural labour households, subsisting on wage employment. Only about 9 percent of the total workforce is in the organized sector; the remaining 91 percent are in the unorganized sector, self-employed, or employed as casual wage labourers. Labour force can be divided into four categories: self employed workers, wage and salary earners, casual workers and unemployed. Self-employment and casual labour statuses are more prevalent among rural than urban labour force and among female than male workers. The Incidence of unemployment is higher in the urban than in the rural labour force with nearly 48 per cent of the total unemployed persons coming from aggregate urban labour force whose share in total (rural plus urban) work force is 22 per cent. India is considered to be a highly regulated and one of the most rigid labour law countries in the world. Rigid labour laws in India have been criticized as the cause of low employment growth, large unorganized sector, underground economy, use of casual labour and low per capita income. These have led many to demand reforms for labour flexibility in India.

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MALAYSIA The Malaysian economy remains resilient. In 3Q2012, its GDP growth moderated to a still commendable 5.2 per cent year-on-year from a revised 5.6 per cent in the second quarter. The growth was driven by strong domestic demand, with impressive albeit slightly slower year-on-year growth in private consumption and private and public investment outlays. Net exports had meanwhile contracted further due to the deterioration in external demand for manufactured goods and commodities. Going forward, we expect domestic demand to remain resilient and to continue picking up the slack of weak external demand. We are keeping to our 2013 GDP growth forecast 5.6 per cent for the time being. As for Malaysia's real GDP growth in 2014, we expect it to register within the 5.0 and 6.0 per cent range Inflationary pressures meanwhile remain benign in Malaysia. For the January - November 2012, the CPI increased 1.7 per cent when compared to the same period last year. We are maintaining our inflation rate forecast for full-year 2012 and 2013 at 1.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively and the unemployment rate at the 3.0 per cent for both years. For 2014, we expect inflation and unemployment to register 2.5 per cent and 3.0 per cent respectively. Recent trends in Malaysia’s labour markets are encouraging. Unemployment has been low, more young people are receiving higher education, more women have careers, and more high-skilled jobs are being created,” says Mathew Verghis, World Bank Lead Economist for Southeast Asia. Frederico Gil Sander, World Bank Senior Economist for Malaysia, adds: “Malaysia’s labour markets are reasonably flexible but can be modernized by protecting workers, not jobs, and by promoting flexible work arrangements to attract women back to the labour force. Women are a largely untapped source of skills in Malaysia.” The total labour force in the 4th quarter 2007 was 10,999,000 and the unemployment rate (% of the total labour force) was 3.0%. It is expected that the Malaysian economy will continue to operate under full employment. These developments augur well for all Malaysians and keep the nation on track towards realizing Vision 2020. Malaysia practises a parliamentary democracy, based on the federal system, with a constitutional monarchy and three branches of government: the legislative, judicial and administrative or executive. The head of government is the Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister is Y.A.B Dato’ SeriMohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak. Today, Malaysia is a broad-based and diversified economy. In 2008 it was the 19th largest trading nation in the world, with trade in excess of RM 1 trillion (USD 270 billion). Malaysia continues to enjoy political stability with a diverse yet united population. At the same time, per capita income has increased to RM22,345 (US$6726) and the incidence of poverty has also been reduced to less than 6.0%. Malaysia is moving towards achieving the targets set in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9th MP), and onwards to realise Vision 2020. Vision 2020 outlined nine strategic challenges so that by the year 2020, Malaysia can be a united nation, In 2007, Nominal Gross National Product (GNP) increased by 9.4% to RM 607,212 million, with per capita income increasing by 7.2% to RM 22,345 (2006: 9.9%; RM 20,841). In terms of

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Purchasing Power Parity (PPP),per capita income increased by 13.9% to reach USD 13,289 in 2007 (2006: 13.00%; USD 11,663). The total labour force in the 4th quarter 2007 was 10,999,000 and the unemployment rate (% of the total labour force) was 3.0%. It is expected that the Malaysian economy will continue to operate under full employment. These developments augur well for all Malaysians and keep the nation on track towards realizing Vision 2020. PAPUA NEW GUINEA Economic Future Bright for the next 40 years Despite the global financial crisis, PNG’s GDP growth has been about 8% last year on back of major resource boom that could result in PNG becoming one of the leading gas producers in the region. Exxon is developing one massive gas project while Interoil is developing another world record gas project. Talisman is advancing the development of the third gas project. These gas projects will be in operation for over 30-100 years and will significantly affect the development of the country. The Exxon lead US$40 billion project is now into the completion phase of the project with first gas anticipated late this year. Prices of goods have jumped in the last 12 months. The country is now experiencing an explosive growth in number of visitors; housing and real estate prices have increased three to four times as accommodation is becoming scarce. The country for the first time in its 35 year history has political and economic stability over the past nine years. The country has turned the corner economically in the last few years. The country is one of the few developing countries not affected by the global economic meltdown. With improve central bank control of the financial institutions and appointment mechanism in place, the country has positive gains in all fronts. Mining boom in PNG Major mining operations and discovery of significant world class nickel, copper and gold deposits continue to attract foreign investment. The country underpinned by income from the resource sector has shield the country from the effects of the global economic meltdown. PNG is fortunate to be unaffected by the global recession. TB a major killer TB has become one of the major killers in PNG. Global fund has provided some fund few weeks back to combat the spread and prevalence of TB. The government is also looking into this area and will be a new frontier of medical battle in the years ahead. HIV AIDS a major threat to PNG HIV AIDS continue to be a problem. Papua New Guinea is battling the spread of HIV. Despite report of significant decline in new cases reported. This is one of the country’s major social issues and has been of great concern to the successive governments of the country. Compounded by

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high incidence of TB attributed to poor government management of the public health sector. The UNDP human development index has placed the country far below that of other neighbouring Pacific Island Countries even though income per capita is very high, the distribution of income continuous to be a problem. High level of school drop out due to fewer tertiary institutions With educational reforms introduced in recent years, the country still has a high drop-out rate. There are not enough tertiary institutions to cater for the significant increase in school leavers. There are more school leavers compared to number of jobs being created thus posing high risk of social instability. Corruption is widespread but contained now in many sectors While the equitable distribution of wealth needs to be seen, a few well to do businessmen and politicians are benefiting the most. Corruption is perceived to be thriving in all sectors of the government. The political leadership. Just recently the country had a National General Elections that has been peaceful. The new parliament has been elected and the new speaker and Prime Minister elected through a very democratic and transparent manner without much trouble. Despite the political challenges experience earlier this year, the new government of reconciliation and unity promised stability, hope and good governance. Despite the 800 different languages and ethnic grouping in the country, the country is politically stable and has a robust democratic system. PHILIPPINES The Philippines has shown economic resilience amidst external shocks. Weak economic recovery in advanced economies has dampened exports in 2011, slowing gross domestic product to 3.9%. GDP growth, however, rebounded to 6.1% in the second half of 2012, lifted by robust consumption and investments. Government spending, particularly on infrastructure accelerated. The country’s sovereign credit ratings have been upgraded, nothing progress on fiscal consolidation, a strong external position, and macroeconomic stability. Asian Development Bank’s new partnership with the Philippines aims to help the country achieve high, inclusive, and sustainable growth and will focus on infrastructure, public sector management, environment, and education. In view of the performance in 2012, and taking into account more moderate expansion expected for the second half, the GDP growth forecast for 2013 is kept at 5.0%. On the labour front, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is noting improvements in the Philippine labour sector due to strong economic growth. In a study released recently, ILO said that

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the jobless rate has been trending down with more male workers being employed and the youth having better chances of clinching jobs. It is noted that underemployment rate in the Philippines went down to 6.9% in the second quarter of 2012, compared with 7.2% the same quarter the previous year. This decline has been driven by trends in male unemployment: the unemployment rate for Filipino men declined from 7.6% to 7.0% during the same period. The unemployment rate for women remained unchanged at 6.7% for the same period. It is also noted that in Philippines and Indonesia, the two countries with the largest labour force in the region, youth unemployment is going down. The youth unemployment rate in the Philippines has trended down to 16.0% in the second quarter of 2012, compared with 16.6% in the same period of 2011 and 18.8% in the same period of 2010. Political situation It is election year in the Philippines in 2013. The election to the Senate of the Philippines will be the 31st of the election to the Senate. It will be held on Mary 13, 2013 to elect 12 of the 24 seats in the Senate. Together with those elected in 2010, they will comprise the 16th Congress. While the Philippines is a multi-party democracy since 1987, political parties have not been able to complete a 12-candidate slate. This means parties have to form coalitions in order to complete a slate, this lessens the number of slates the voters have to choose for. There will also be elections at the local level where provincial Governors and city Mayors will be elected by voters. Philippines President Benigno C. Aquino III also signed a law compensating close to 10,000 victims of human rights violations during martial law which was imposed in 1972 by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos as President Aquino exhorted Filipinos to “celebrate a race that will never again be oppressed.” The colourful commemoration at the Edsa People Power Monument of the 27th anniversary of the People Power I that toppled President Marcos in February 1986 served as a backdrop for the signing of the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013. SRI LANKA With the eradication of terrorism in Sri Lanka in May 2009, a long-awaited peace has dawned in the Country thus stimulating economic growth. The restoration of peace resulted in salutary conditions; firstly the Peace brought about social and economic stability in the Northern and Eastern Provinces which is 1/6th of the land-area of the Country. Secondly it provided a much needed impetus in reviving the economy, especially in the war ravaged Northern and Eastern Provinces. This attracted foreign investments and also encouraged the local investors to embark on new business ventures. More importantly, the establishment of peace saved an enormous expenditure on military expenses. The newly emerged scenario has encouraged investment as well as economic activities in development of tourism, manufacturing and service providing ventures along with the infrastructure development. With the commencement of this processes in the beginning of 2010, gradually gathered momentum in economic resurgence which ultimately would enhance the GDP and

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reduce the budgetary gap. If this situation is managed with proper planning and economic prudence, it is expected that Sri Lanka will emerge as a politically and socially stable Country with a vibrant economy. TAIWAN Taiwan’s key economic and employment indices as of March 2013 are set out below:

Items 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Economic Growth Rate 0.73% -1.81% 10.76% 4.07% 1.26% Per Capita GNP (US$) 17,833 16,901 19,090 20,574 21,035 Consumer Price Index (%) 3.52% -0.86% 0.96% 1.4% 1.93% Local Company Salary Increase (%) 0.24% -2.01% 1.82% 1.46% 1.28% Government Employee Salary Increase (%) 0% 0% 0% 3% 0% Labor Force 10.85M 10.92M 11.07M 11.20M 11.34M Unemployment Rate 4.14% 5.85% 5.21% 4.39% 4.24 (1) Data source for Economic Indicators come from National Statistics, R.O.C.(Taiwan) (2) Data reference date as of Dec. 2012 THAILAND According to the Government policies, many programs for gaining popularity had been launched such as First Cars Tax Rebate scheme, Women Development Fund, and Personal Income Tax cut, these made big growth in Car Industrial and sustained domestics demand. It was announced 6.4% GDP growth of last year and forecasted consistent growth for 2013. It looks bright and attractive to many investors from around the world who are facing with the fragile US recovery and Euro debt crisis. These made the stock market index grow rapidly and constant Baht appreciation. Due to the government policy, The National Wages Committee had to support the new minimum wage scheme which Thai Rak Thai Party had promised if the party won the general election. The policy made many SMEs went soar because the minimum wages enforced resulted in wage increase around 40% nationwide. Some provinces had to give 300 Baht per day for unskilled labor while the previous rate was 186 Baht. The employers said they will not hire more headcount (freeze the headcount) and discontinued to provide some kind of benefits instead of acquiring lay-off policy. It should be a challenging year for HR to work hard to make both side happy and to generate industrial peace.

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2. HR Challenges AUSTRALIA According to a December 2012 meeting of senior HR directors of Australia’s top companies, the four main challenges facing the HR profession in Australia at present are: Leadership and development, including motivating and engaging employees, fostering agility

and resilience, instilling values, and exercising an appropriate management regime to achieve these objectives.

Diversity and inclusion, including gender equity, and the workplace inclusion of mature age, young, Indigenous, regional, LGBTI and disabled people in the interests of adding value to product innovation, and employee & customer engagement.

Improving productivity and manage costs given a background that includes increasing government regulation and changing workplace relations laws. The HR challenge is to improve management practices, workforce planning, and the incorporation of new technology into the way the workforce operates (e.g. telework)

Sourcing and retaining talent in a volatile employment environment. In the interests of competitiveness and in the midst a ‘talent war’, the focus needs to be on how to attract appropriate candidates, recruit the right people, assess their performance, and develop their knowledge and skills in the interests of improving competitiveness.

BANGLADESH The main challenges facing the HR professionals at present are: According to the HR Priority Survey results in 2012, paper presented at the 2nd International

HR Conference, Bangladesh, the highest priority challenges found to be as following:

o Managing Talent found as a top most priority: Most of the respondents (72%) think that the HR should put top most priority on their Talent Management activity which also is a world’s priority for future (according to SHRM).

o Improving Leadership Development became the second top priority: This also has fell within the highest priority areas as per the 70% of the respondents showed the survey result.

o Improving Performance Management and Reward: This is the third highest priority area of HR focus for now and future and 68% of the respondents given highest priority to the performance improvement of the employees.

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Aside the Garments Industry, Bangladesh's low participation of women in labor markets is linked to a pattern whereby in most cases women do not return to work after marriage and childbearing. In the long-term, norms need to evolve for gender gaps to be bridged. Changing prevailing social norms takes time. While current initiatives to leverage on women's talent are laudable, other policy options must be explored, evaluated, and tailored, to enable Bangladeshi women to fully contribute to country's transformation towards a growing-income, inclusive and sustainable economy.

Nurturing, attracting, and retaining skills are needed for the creation of modern high-productivity jobs. In line with this, the World Bank supports the Government’s New Economic Model recommendation that the education system needs to be reviewed and the ‘rote-learning’ approach’ shifted to an approach that stimulates ‘creative and critical thinking’. Bangladesh may also benefit from complementing its talent base by bringing scarce skills from abroad.

HONG KONG The main challenges facing the HR profession in Hong Kong at present are: Minimum Wage Ordinance With effect from 1 May 2013, the statutory minimum wage rate will be lifted to HK$30 per

hour. The monetary cap on the requirement of employers keeping records of the total number of hours worked by employees will also be revised to HK$12,300 per month accordingly.

Standard Working Hours

The government released the “Report of the Policy Study on Standard Working Hours” in November 2012. Twenty-seven scenarios were generated to study the likely impact by altering three elements: a 40 to 48-hour week, overtime pay of one to 1.5 times regular pay and exemption criteria for staff such as managers and executives. Depending on the scenario, it estimated the employers’ additional labour costs at $8 billion to $55.2 billion a year, or 1.7% to 11.4% of total expenditure on wages. Meanwhile, 1.32 million to 2.38 million workers will be affected if standard working hours are set at 48 or 40 hours a week respectively. It also suggested that such a law, together with a statutory minimum wage, would significantly weaken the flexibility of firms to adjust and rebound during tough times. The report also found Hongkongers work 47 hours a week on average. Of the 2.81 million workers in the city, 23.4% have worked overtime but only 51.8% of these have been paid for the extra time. The government will begin to study standard working hours legislation feasibility after forming a special committee on the issue.

Paternity Leave A proposal on paid paternity leave will be submitted to the Legislative Council. Under the

government’s legislative proposal, new fathers would get three days off on 80% pay – the same benefit as maternity, sick or work injury leave. The Labour and Welfare Bureau was inclined to disregard the marital status of new parents or the child’s place of birth. A new father would be eligible for the leave as long as he had been employed at the company for 40 weeks or more. The new legislation is expected to be effective starting from October 2013.

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Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes

Effective 1 November 2012, employees are allowed to transfer their contribution accounts and accrued benefits to a trustee of their choice. This Employee Choice Arrangement (ECA) is designed to give employees greater autonomy while in the long run, to further enhance market competition, resulting in trustees providing better products and services, and room for further reductions in fees. According to the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, there were 35,000 applications of transferring accrued benefits of Mandatory Provident Fund in the first 2.5 months since the implementation of ECA..

INDIA After the globalization, the environment of Human Resource Management in India has been changed rapidly. Indian companies are facing global competition for the survival in the business. As international companies entered the Indian market, Indian companies were forced to adopt innovative changes in their HR practices. Indian companies have realized that in today's competitive business scenario, the multi-skilled people are very much essential for the growth of the business. In the last few years, the Human Resource has become a key player in strategic planning in the business. HR managers are facing challenges to upgrade the skill of employee through training and development in the present complexity of the business. Over the last decade, India's vast manpower has played an instrumental role in its economic success story. Indeed, the success of Indian companies is not based on superior access to raw materials or technology or patents, but fundamentally upon human skills. Indian companies are recognizing their responsibilities to enhance the employee’s opportunity to develop skills and abilities for full performance within the position and for career advancement. The employers in India are increasingly realizing the value of trained human resource, especially women in India. Some organizations are changing their HR policies to stick with their valuable employees. Since right-sizing has been a growing trend in Indian organization, the HR now faces the task of identifying and retaining the key employees of an organization and letting go those that do not suit its future requirements. The growing importance that companies are nowadays giving to cost-cutting has posed HR with the challenge to minimize expenditure on HR not compromising on the productivity. HR also faces the challenge of creating a balanced organization that originates from mergers and acquisitions. HR needs to assimilate those policies that are mutually agreeable to the companies being merges as well as profitable for the new organization. It also needs to take care about the organizational structure of the emerged organization. MALAYSIA The main challenges facing the HR profession at present are: Malaysia's low participation of women in labour markets .is linked to a pattern whereby

women do not return to work after marriage and childbearing. In the long-term, norms need to evolve for gender gaps to be bridged. Changing prevailing social norms takes time. While current initiatives to leverage on women's talent are laudable, other policy options must be

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explored, evaluated, and tailored, to enable Malaysian women to fully contribute to Malaysia's transformation towards a high-income, inclusive and sustainable economy.

Nurturing, attracting, and retaining skills are needed for the creation of modern high-productivity jobs. In line with this, the World Bank supports the Government’s New Economic Model recommendation that the education system needs to be reviewed and the ‘rote-learning’ approach’ shifted to an approach that stimulates ‘creative and critical thinking’. Malaysia can also benefit from complementing its talent base by bringing scarce skills from abroad.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA The major HR challenges are:

• HIV AIDS and TB continuous to be a major threat.

• Lack of skilled professionals for the major mining and petroleum projects

• Law and order issues in some parts of the country

• High percentage of school push-outs after secondary level education as tertiary and vocational institutions are limited

• Growing problem of drug abuse and alcohol abuse and associated social disturbances

• Ever increasing prices of goods and services PHILIPPINES The 3 main challenges facing the HR profession in Philippines at present are: Succession Management - More and more executives and managers are retiring without

ready replacements as many companies do not have a succession plan to address impending retirements.

Competency Development - There seems to be a lack of basis for some companies trying

to determine the training needs of their employees as these companies simply come up with training curricula without anchoring training needs on the existing competencies of people or lack of them (gaps).

Leadership Development - The leadership bench of some companies is shallow due to lack

of mentoring and coaching interventions and initiatives directed by top management. SRI LANKA

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The main HR challenges facing the HR profession in Sri Lanka at present are :

• Talent Search and Retention

• Outsourcing

• Reward Management

• Brain drain - Skills Development of employees to meet demand from international markets is a challenge.

• Employee Productivity -With the increasing of cost, improving employee productivity has become a critical option for organizational survival.

TAIWAN Major HR challenges for Taiwan include the following:

CLA (Council of Labor Affairs) announced that "Equal Pay Day" in Taiwan was officially on March 5th. It commended BPW Taiwan (Business & Professional Women Taiwan) for its effort on equal payment for both genders. It is not a paid holiday but a symbol of equal working rights.

CLA reviewed the policy for hiring foreign labour for the industry of manufacturing to ensure working opportunities for the local labourers. The investigation has a wide scale, to 5 levels, and a decline of 3% of headcounts for some specific industries.

CLA provides training programs for unemployed youth from 18 to 29 years old. Participants can benefit by a maximum NT $120,000(USD $4000) over 2 years.

The Employment Services Act was revised. Working permission for industries of family services, nursing, manufacturing, construction and fishing have been extended for a further 3 years.

The National Health Insurance Act was revised and executed. The billing basis of National Health Insurance includes the part-time income, executive business income, interest, dividends and rental income.

The Personal Information Protection Act was executed. The act focuses on the risk of personal data evaluation and management processes, internal policy for data collection, processing and use of personal data, awareness training and education, data security audit processes and personal info security maintenance and overall continuous improvement.

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3. HR Association Projects and Activities AUSTRALIA Major areas of AHRI activity include the following: Preparations for the 2013 AHRI National Convention to be held in Sydney in August are well

advanced. Confirmed speakers include Ruby Wax, Garry Ridge, Fons Trompenaars, Daniel Gilbert, Lois Frankel, John Boudreau and Layne Beachley.

AHRI is working on the development of a value proposition that will have appeal to the 2.3 million small businesses in Australia, most of which do not have any access to HR knowledge or advice.

Nominations closed this month for the 2013 AHRI Diversity and Inclusion Awards. Winners will be announced at a luncheon during June in Sydney. Categories include gender equity, cross cultural management, disability employment, age diversity, Indigenous employment and a new award in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & intersex inclusion.

Last year AHRI surveyed its senior members on the issues of staff turnover and retention, working hours and learning development, and will be reporting on those surveys in the next few months.

AHRI partnered with Deloitte in Australia to examine the contribution of social media to the HR function, using the AHRI database as the source on input. A report on that is due to be published in the next month.

AHRI has doubled to $50,000 the professional Indemnity Insurance cover it provides free for members who are practising HR consultants.

AHRI contributed a submission to a government discussion paper on improving the workforce participation of people with a disability. In the light of continuing failure to make improvements in this policy area, AHRI has taken the position in recent times of calling for a light-touch reporting regime for listed companies and the public service. We have also spoken to the Australian stock exchange on the matter with some success.

BANGLADESH Major areas of activity include the following: Introduction of HR Excellence Awards 2013 has been scheduled in April 2013 for the best

HR professionals of the country The 3rd International HR Conference will be organized on 25th January 2014. The theme of

the conference is yet to be finalized.

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Major promotion on HR Certification for the Bangladeshi HR Professionals will be conducted in 2013.

Arrange a T-10 cricket tournament among the members.

Arrange an inter university debate competition on emerging HR issues. Arrange Annual General Meeting (AGM) and cultural program on April 26, 2013

HONG KONG The HR Excellence Awards 2012 was successfully concluded at the HKIHRM 35th Anniversary

Dinner cum HR Excellence Awards 2012 Presentation Ceremony on 21 September 2012. The award programme, held first time by the HKIHRM, received overwhelmingly positive responses. More than 100 entries were received within the one-month enrolment period. The HR Excellence Awards 2013 will be kicked off in April and the award presentation ceremony will be held in October.

HKIHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition The HKIHRM successfully held its 32nd Annual Conference and Exhibition on 27 - 28

November 2012. This year’s event featured speakers from various countries such as Australia, Singapore and the United States with diverse backgrounds. Some 1,800 delegates and visitors from around 470 organisations and government units joined the Institute for talks, workshops and peer networking. An exhibition concurrently took place to feature over 40 reputable service providers demonstrating the latest and most innovative HR products and services. The 33rd Annual Conference and Exhibition will be held on 26 – 27 November 2013.

International and Mainland Collaborations

1. The HKIHRM was invited by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to be one of the supporting organisations in the “HR Forum”, one of the highlighted events of the SmartHK Expo held on 30 and 31 August 2012 in Hangzhou, China. The forum achieved a tremendous success as it saw a full house attendance with over 300 business and HR leaders from the Mainland and Hong Kong.

2. Mr Francis Mok, President of HKIHRM and Mr Lawrence Hung, Executive Council

member and Co-Chairperson of China and International HRM Committee, attended the HRIZON, the two-day 14th World Human Resources Congress organised by the Australian Human Resources Institute in October 2012.

3. Mr Francis Mok attended as a speaker in the American Society for Training &

Development (ASTD) - Singapore Training & Development Association (STADA) Asia Pacific Conference 2012 held in Singapore on 31 October and 1 November 2012.

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4. Ms Julita Leung, Chairperson of the Minimum Wage and Standard Work Hours Taskforce, delivered a presentation at the two-shore four-place forum organised by the China Association for Labour Studies in Kunming, China on 22 November 2012.

As of February 2013, the Institute had over 5,000 members, with 580 of whom being corporate members.

INDIA NIPM successfully organized a 3-Day National Seminar on the theme “Leading from the Front – Experience Sharing” during February 08-10, 2013 at Port Blair, Andamam, India. Delegates from various organizations throughout the country participated in the Seminar. NIPM is going to organize another 3 Day National Seminar on the theme “HR Management - Best Practice to Next Practice” during June 07-09, 2013 at Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India. Besides the above, all the 52 Chapter of NIPM throughout India are constantly organizing Seminars, Lecture Meetings, Professional Meetings and Conferences to update the knowledge of their Members for the cause of HR. In the year 2013, Goa Chapter of NIPM, India will organize 3rd APFHRM Regional HR Conference along with 32nd Annual National Conference of NIPM during September 26-28, 2013 at Panaji, Goa, India. The theme of the Conference is “Challenges – Opportunities : The HR Way Ahead”. Invitations will be sent to all the APHRM Member Countries in due course of time.

MALAYSIA Major areas of activity include the following: Malaysia HR Awards 2013 has been launched on 1st Jan2013 A conference on ‘Talent Management across borders’ will be conducted in the month of

June 2013.

Major promotion on HR Certification for the Malaysian Professionals will be conducted in 2013

PAPUA NEW GUINEA The Papua New Guinea Human Resource Institute was incorporated formally in 1999 after being informally established as a society since the early 1970’s. The institute is independent of government and its operation is supervised by independent professional members of the council.

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PNGHRI is comparatively very small compared to all our other colleagues in the region. We have a long way to go and look forward to learning from the experiences from our neighbours. HR Degree Program The University of Papua New Guinea through the support of PNGHRI has introduce the first ever degree program in the country since independence 43 years ago. Over 200 HR Degree students have graduated so far since 2008. The HR Course is proving to be very popular. In partnership with the country’s premier university, PNGHRI is looking forward to seeing the offering of Masters in HR programs in 2014. Membership Membership continuous to grow with the largest most significant growth experienced in 2012. More than 1000 professional members registered. More than 100 corporate members are now active members and supporters. The country has about 5000 HR practitioners. PNGHRI has a turnover of about K1,200,000 per annum (US$400,000). Strong support from the business community is growing. HR as a profession is gaining momentum. There is significant growth in the number of members across all sectors of the country. Continuing Professional Development Programs PNGHRI has now got eight professional development programs running. Interest is high and seeing good return to the institute. PNGHRI has strategic alliances with other third parties to provide training and other services to its members. The recently introduced monthly seminars on topical subjects and core HR competency areas have proven successful. These are short 4 to 8 hour sessions. Outreach activities out of the capital has commenced with some programs running out of Lae, our industrial capital and second biggest city in the country. Student chapter PNGHRI has two active student chapters in the country now associated with the two major universities in the country. With over 200 student membership, the future development of the HR professionals in the country is now guaranteed. The national body provides annual prize awards and financial grants for student chapter activities from time to time. Annual national HR conferences PNGHRI traditionally holds an annual national conference. Last year’s conference had record in excess of 450 attendance. We had over 30 speakers over three day sessions. We are hosting another conference this coming May 2013 and hope to have over 500 attendees. This is the pinnacle of all our programmes during the year. Governance

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2012 financial statements audited is now in progress and very likely to be successful. The books are audited by independent and certified professionals without any qualifications for many years now. PNGHRI is proud to be one of the few professional bodies in the country that has its books audited by independent professional accounting firms annually.

PHILIPPINES Major areas of PMAP activity include the following: PMAP President 2013 Evelyn Grace C. Sorongon outlined a 12-Point Agenda for 2013 using

the acronym HUMAN CAPITAL to describe each point/statement, as follows:

1. Holistic and strong internal organization. 2. United leadership. 3. Management by example. 4. Advocate for environment protection, education and training. 5. Natural leadership. 6. Culture and change champions. 7. Alignment on programs planning and execution. 8. Performance management. 9. Inclusive and innovative. 10. Technology for sustainability. 11. Ability to think quickly. 12. Live simply but with passion.

The theme of the association in 2013 is Global Competitiveness: Our Human Capital

Mandate. As the global business world is undergoing unprecedented changes and turmoil, People Managers will be required to find new opportunities in the horizon. The new PMAP officers have to look beyond their HR discipline, likewise, take risks to explore new ideals. They will also play significant roles in charting, designing, and implementing changes in the workplace. Such being so demands a new breed of People Managers who are well-networked and able to navigate changed work environments.

SRI LANKA The Institute of Personnel Management was founded in 1959 and was incorporated by an act of parliament in 1976. The primary objective of the Institute is to promote and develop the principles, techniques and practices of Human Resource Management and to ensure a high level of professional standards and competence amongst membership and those who are aspiring to become members of the Institute. In pursuance of these objectives in the past 50 years, the Institute has been actively involved in conducting a wide range of professional activities to upgrade the standards of the HR Profession in Sri Lanka. Among these activities, two important processes are the conducting of professional

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study programmes for those interested in pursuing a career in Human Resource Management and the Continuous Professional Development for the HR Practitioners. With its beginning in 1959, the Institute has developed into the leading Human Resource Authority in Sri Lanka. During this period, the Institute has contributed significantly to develop and nurture the Human Resource Management profession. Whilst catering to the needs of the membership especially in regard to the upgrading of their knowledge and skills, the Institute had conducted a wide range of professional courses which include the prestigious IPM Professional Qualification in Human Resource Management and thereby train quality HR professionals required by the country. Although the years have brought many changes in the profession, the Institute is firmly committed to Management and Development as relevant today. IPM is a member of the Organization of Professional Associations in Sri Lanka and also a member of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management through which the Institute is affiliated to the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations. (WFPMA). IPM SL as the Leader in HR in Sri Lanka continues to play a vibrant role amongst Professional Associations in Sri Lanka. It is the only HR professional body statutorily incorporated by an Act of Parliament. IPM Business School : The Business School has carried out all activities in a more methodical and efficient manner and always maintained a steady student growth throughout the period. Graduation Ceremony The Graduation ceremony is an annual event of the IPM Business School. Graduation Ceremony of IPMSL was held on 22nd October 2012 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) with the participation of Prof. Sarath Amunugama –Vice Chancellor University of Kelaniya as the chief guest and Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe –Chairman Bank of Ceylon as the Guest of Honour. This was held in the presence of a large gathering of professionals and academics. The National HR Conference – 2013 is scheduled to be held this year on 18th and 19th June at Waters Edge- Battaramulla located near the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Several Internationally renowned HR experts are expected to make presentations. IPM expects many participants from the Asia Pacific Region. The International HR Conference 2012 of IPM under the theme “The Evolving New HR Agenda” held at the Waters Edge, Colombo on the 26th & 27th of June 2012 was concluded with a resounding success. The largest HR conference the nation has witnessed this year was attended by over 650 local and foreign delegates. IPM continues to publish the quarterly Issue of “People Power” newsletter and an annual magazine “HR Perspective”. IPMSL provides various services to our membership and those involved in managing people by conducting seminars, workshops, CPD programmes, Career guidance programmes and public lectures to upgrade the knowledge and competence. Our Headquarters has provided fully furnished Members’ Lounge with all modern facilities for members to spend their leisure time with fellow professionals.

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It is with great pride that we wish to record that IPM has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 certification by the Sri Lanka Standard Institution(SLSI). This prestigious award was presented at the inauguration ceremony of International Human Resource Conference held on 26th June 2012. India – Sri Lanka HR Professional Exchange Programme: A twelve-member delegation of IPM Sri Lanka visited India in September 2012. This is the fifth occasion that the HR professional exchange programme has been activated between the two countries. The main objective of the programme is to share knowledge and best practices and build relationships with NIPM India and IPM Sri Lanka. CIPD Conference –UK: IPM President, Air vice Marcel Rohitha Ranasinghe and the Chairman National HR Conference Committee, Mr. Shanaka Fernando visited England to participate in the CIPD conference in November 2012. This time we managed to get two free conference tickets for the CIPD conference due to the recognition of the IPMSL and the strong relationship with CIPD. International HR Conference organized by Bangladesh Society for HRM APFHRM Board Meeting : Mr. Ajith R De Costa –Chairman International Affairs Committee participated in the APFHRM Board meeting and World HR Congress 2012 in Mebourne, Australia from 24th to 27th September, 2012. TAIWAN The major accomplishments of CHRMA in 2011 were as follows:

Rick Liu, Chairman of CHRMA, attended the APFHRM Board Meeting WFPMA meeting Melbourne, Australia in September.

Hank Lin, a volunteer of CHRMA, served as representative of Taiwan and led 1 delegations to attend the Annual Conference of ASTD in May in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Rick Liu led 15 delegates to attend the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition 2012 in June in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Rick Liu and Joe Ning, Vice Chairman of the International Affairs Committee, attended the HRIZON Conference in Melbourne, Australia in September.

David Wang, Counselor of CHRMA, served as representative of Taiwan and attended the Annual Conference of HKIHRM in Hong Kong in November.

Howard A. Wallack, MA, MSc, GPHR, Vice President, Global Business Development (acting) visited Taipei and conducted a speech titled “Global HR Trends, Global Innovation, and the Future” in September.

SHRM member forum/Taiwan has been established in May with the support of CHRMA and acts as one of CHRMA’s interest group in Taiwan. The forum has its first meeting on June 17 with 26 members.

The application for the training provider of GPHR Certification Prep and PHR/SPHR Certification Prep Courses (HRCI Certifications) has been approved in December and now on the process of contract reviewing.

Local HR activities and events

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A penal discussion with the Secretary in Chief of Council of Labor Affairs of Taiwan to converse about the representatives of enterprises in February.

A seminar titled “The Analysis of Management Competence of Managers in Taiwan” in May.

4 Sharing Conferences for ASTD and SHRM in northern/central/southern Taiwan with over 600 attendees in July and August.

A seminar titled “The career map of professional HR” in November. A sharing from winners of the National Prize of Innovation of Human Resources with over

200 attendees in December. Alignment with the Tze-Chiang Foundation of Science and Technology for the Annual

Conference of Summit on Globalization Human Capital(SGHC) Alignment with the magazine “MANAGER Today” for seminars titled “The Core

competence of Managers” and “Now and Future of Transnational Work Force” Alignment with the Chinese Professional Management Association to select the 18 Top

Managers in central Taiwan. Survey and Statistics

Alignment with BCG for the survey of “The Future of Global HR”. Alignment with HKIHRM for the survey of “The Status of HR Resource, Talent and

Learning.” Alignment with ETS TOEIC Country Master Distributor - Chun Shin Limited for the survey

of “Comparing the Use of English Proficiency Standards for Global Talent Management in Large Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean Corporations” and “The Status of English Proficiency Management among Top 1000 Enterprises in Taiwan.”

Published the statistics of “Local Salary Increase in Taiwan, 2012”. THAILAND The Annual General Meeting of the Personnel Management Association of Thailand was held on March 28, 2013. The main topic was the advancement of activities and services of the association; for example, the preparation course for HR accreditation, tutorial on some topics, library, training room, meeting room. The Institute of Personnel Management will conduct the 3rd examination course for PHR by the end of April and the final result will be announced around midyear. Thailand HR Forum 2013 will be held during June 19th- 20th with the main theme of “Re-Visioning HR”. Spotlights are:

- Leadership for Business Success

- From new blood talent to New gen leader: The pipeline

- The Strategy Co-owner

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- Translating Business Strategy into People Strategy

- HR in the courses of Change

- The Human Factor of M&A: The Key Success in HR hands

Professor David Ulrich will be the keynote speaker and facilitator for a 2-day workshop. ERNESTO G. ESPINOSA President Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management 26 March 2013

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