Geminder has been recalled to Asia as principal and head of corporate finance with primary reponsibility for M&A and financial advisory. He has eight years corporate finance experience nearly half of which with KMPG in Hong Kong between 1996 and 1999.

His own area of focus has been media especially publishing and advertising. Commenting to FinanceAsia on his new role Geminder says, "We will be focusing on what KPMG does best, which is M&A and deal advisory for the middle market.

"Currently there are 12 of us," he adds, "but we're looking to grow and establish a sector focus for areas we favour such as consumer products, healthcare, retail, financial services and media."

According to Thomson league tables, KPMG advised on the second highest number of deal transactions globally in 2001 and currently holds tenth position in Asia.