ONE of Cambodia’s top mobile service providers, Hello Axiata, announced the company’s move into profitability during the first half of 2011.

“Hello is in the green and has turned a profit for the first time,” said Axiata Group CEO Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, who was on a visit from Malaysia earlier this month.

Jamaludin met with hello executives and distributors and then joined a group of high-achieving employees at a dinner at Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra.

Jamaludin expressed his admiration for the exclusive group of achievers and reiterated the Axiata Group’s commitment to assisting such high-performing individuals from its operating companies to reach their full potential.

“Axiata’s Group’s vision is to be a regional mobile champion by 2015 and talent is a critical factor in this,” Jamaludin said. “Because of this aim, we have created critical tools to achieve our vision.

“We’ve made substantial investments in creating these programmes and in training select employees for future senior leadership roles because we believe that this will strengthen the core of each operating company. As this exclusive group gains crucial skills and puts their training to work, each company will in turn be able to grow significantly.

“The Axiata Group and Hello Axiata would not be where we are today without the skill and dedication of our Cambodian employees. I am proud that we have such a strong team in Cambodia,” Jamaludin said.

The hello talent team is selected annually based on management aptitude and promise. After an assessment, hello then ushers the individuals through an elite international training programme, using resources in Cambodia and resources from Axiata Group. The first batch in 2009  consisted of 18 individuals and the second batch in early 2011 and consisted of 14 employees.

Hello CEO Simon Perkins said: “We are grateful for Axiata’s support in training our staff and giving them an international and regional perspective on the telecommunications industry.Hello Axiata is part of the Malaysian AXIATA Group, one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies, focused on high growth, low penetration emerging markets. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India, Singapore and Iran.

The group’s mobile subsidiaries and associates operate under the brand name Celcom in Malaysia, XL in Indonesia, Dialog in Sri Lanka, Robi in Bangladesh, hello in Cambodia, Idea in India, M1 in Singapore and MTCE in Iran.