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Published on July 9, 2007

The new business remains wholly owned by PwC firms in the region, operating under one common brand, philosophy, technology and methodology, and will be a member of the PwC global network.

"This strategic combination puts us in the best possible position to leverage our regional resources and knowledge to deliver the consistent level of service excellence and range of services that our clients require," said Rod Houng-lee, regional tax leader of PwC and senior partner of the new regional IAS business. "Clients will have greater access to international assignments expertise across the region."

"Our client base for IAS is mostly multinational companies," said Thavorn Rujivanarom, lead tax partner at PwC Thailand. "As many of these companies are established in various locations within the region, they need to be able to move their resources effectively across the countries. Their spectrum of challenges ranges from local regulations to the global pressure to enhance human-capital effectiveness. Our new structure will allow us to understand those practical dynamics and enable us to bring our value to their head office, regional hubs and local team operations, with one single seamless service."

Prapasiri Kositthanakorn, a partner of the new PwC IAS practice in Thailand, said, "We have been advising on international assignments to Thailand for nearly four decades and assisted thousands of expatriate clients. We fully expect the greater breadth of skills, depth of specialist expertise and knowledge of international assignments to bring significant advantages to our clients through an integrated approach and efficiencies across the region."

The combined regional practice will have a staff strength of 350 professionals, and the practice will continue to provide the following services:

lPersonal and expatriate tax services

lPension and social-security planning

lInternational mobility services

lEmployment-regulations advice

lImmigration services

lReward planning

"Our vision is to be the leading professional-services organisation in any territory that we operate in, as well as becoming a distinctive IAS practice in the region by building on the success of our local practices. As we pass this major milestone today, we are confident that our combined practice will grow from strength to strength," said Prapasiri, referring to statement given by Mandy Kwok, managing partner of the new regional IAS business based in Hong Kong.