Merger Positions DFDL Mekong as Legal and Tax Advisory Hub for Leading Businesses in Cambodia
Monday, 05 April 2010 07:24 DAP-NEWS
The DFDL Mekong legal and tax firm announced on Monday that it has merged with a law firm in Thailand, bringing its total number of offices in the Mekong region to eight, including one in Cambodia.
The law firms of DFDL Mekong and McEvily & Collins announced they will merge, creating a 90-attorney firm with national and international reach. The official merger took place January 1, 2010, according to DFDL statement on Monday.
DFDL Mekong’s Regional Managing Partner in Cambodia Martin Desautels says the merger uniquely positions his firm to provide legal and tax advice to Cambodia-based businesses seeking to make direct investments in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.
“DFDL Mekong’s office has a long record of helping companies and investors protect their investments and maximize their opportunities,” said Desautels. “This merger will enhance our ability to provide companies in Cambodia with the tax and legal advice they need as they make investments in the Mekong region.”
The merger, mutually agreed to by the shareholders at both firms, combines DFDL Mekong’s multi-faceted corporate, tax, finance, mergers, energy, real estate and public policy practices with McEvily & Collins’ exceptional real estate tax, corporate finance and M&A practices.
DFDL has operated offices in the Mekong region since 1994.
The merged firm will take on the DFDL Mekong name and the partners of McEvily and Collins will be partners of DFDL Mekong. The fifteen lawyers from McEvily and Collins’ offices in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Phuket will continue in their roles with DFDL Mekong. The merger was the result of previous collaborations between the firms on client projects.
“This merger has significantly strengthened our base in the Mekong region, and provides businesses and investors with excellent local counsel in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos,” said DFDL Mekong Founder David Doran. “While other law firms may be scaling back or holding steady, we have taken this as an opportunity to grow our team and our business. As the economy continues to rebound, we will be ready for more opportunities in the Mekong region.”
McEvily & Collins was founded in 1993 in Bangkok, and expanded to include offices in Phuket and Koh Samui. In 1999 McEvily & Collins was the first international law firm to open in Phuket.
“Merging the strength of our property practices in Koh Samui and Phuket with DFDL Mekong’s regional reach gives our clientele a whole new host of options, particularly to some of the successful property developers in Thailand who now want to replicate their success in other markets and resort areas in Southeast Asia,” said Collins, who will remain based in Phuket.
Mekong PMs Agree to Priorities Climate Change as Summit Ends
Monday, 05 April 2010 07:23 DAP-NEWS/ Soy Sophea
China agrees to increase cooperation with Mekong Basin countries
Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam have agreed that adjusting to the challenges posed by climate change is a regional priority, as high-level talks in Hua Hin come to a close on Monday.
On behalf of delegates at the summit, Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand, summarized nine areas of “priority action,” for Mekong River Commission Member Countries, which included climate change and responding to droughts. He called on the countries present to “avoid the risks of harmful effects that might result from natural occurrences and man-made activities, and to protect the immense value of the Basin’s natural ecosystems.”
“We encourage the MRC to further integrate climate change adaptation in its work,” said Mr. Abhisit, “and to significantly expand cooperation with Dialogue Partners, Development Partners and other stakeholders. In this connection, we welcome and call on upstream Riparian States to join the MRC in the future.”
In the past, the MRC has said that the Mekong region is one of the most vulnerable in the world to the long-term impacts of climate change, due to a relatively high proportion of people living on low incomes and regional low government capacity to deal with the issue, according to MRC’s press statement.
“Besides committing to increasing efforts to adapt to climate change across the basin, the Mekong governments have agreed to intensify efforts to protect people at risk from flooding; encouraging river navigation and trade; improve basin water quality; and evaluating the opportunities and challenges of proposed hydropower schemes,” said Jeremy Bird, the CEO of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), which, together with host country Thailand, organised the summit.
The declaration endorses a statement issued earlier in the week by an international conference of over 200 experts in river and water management that called on Mekong Countries to work together to protect water resources in the region when considering any future development projects.
The upper basin includes parts of China and Myanmar and both countries have been Dialogue Partners to the Mekong River Commission since 1996. China has been increasing technical cooperation in recent years.
Meanwhile, China has agreed to share information on its river flows and dam operations. In a side meeting between the MRC and China at the Summit, China provided further hydro-meteorological data concerning the operation of its dams on the mainstream Mekong during the current dry season.
“This is a significant step forwards in engagement between China and the countries of the Lower Mekong Basin as it improves transparency. It is the first time that China has shared this dry season data with downstream countries,” said Mr. Bird, “and is a significant increase in the level of cooperation also seen by the participation of a high level delegation from China at the summit.”
“It is hoped that access to this kind of data is another step towards an open understanding of how Chinese dams operate and we look forward to expanding the range of data that is shared,” said Mr. Bird.
This follows earlier moves by China to release hydro-meteorological data from Jinghong power station on the mainstream Mekong and the Man’an tributary.
Activists have recently claimed water shortages in northern Thailand and Lao PDR, are caused by Chinese dams on the mainstream of the Mekong. The MRC has said in earlier statements that there is no evidence to back up this claim, reiterating that current water shortages are due to the regional drought.
The summit reaffirmed its commitment to shared sustainable water resources in the basin.
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