Local context. Clear judgement.
Senior-led cross-border advisory for companies, investors and institutions entering and growing in Vietnam and China.
Connecting strategic ambition with operating reality.
Mekong Partners helps international businesses examine opportunities, test assumptions and plan their next move in Vietnam and China. We connect strategic analysis and local market intelligence with the practical questions that shape investment and operations.
Our work can range from a focused assessment to a coordinated implementation mandate. The starting point is always the decision you need to make, the evidence required and the responsibilities that must be clear. Specialist legal, tax or technical questions are identified for review by appropriately qualified professionals.
LEADERSHIP
Mickaël Driol
CEO, Mekong Partners
Mickaël Driol leads Mekong Partners' advisory work with companies, investors and institutions considering opportunities in Vietnam and China, with regional expansion considered within the agreed mandate.
His public commentary addresses the business environment, investment decisions, sourcing and industrial development. Selected interviews and press coverage are collected in our Media & Press section, with links to the original publishers.
For an engagement, the priority is to connect the strategic question with a practical scope: what needs to be understood, what should be challenged and what can move the project forward.
Mickaël on LinkedIn ↗Explore Media & Press ↗HOW WE THINK ABOUT THE WORK
Useful advice makes the decision clearer.
Evidence before conviction
Distinguish what is known from what is assumed. Match research and validation to the decision, and make information gaps visible rather than hiding them behind a confident conclusion.
Context before templates
A market-entry question is not the same as an acquisition or a supplier expansion. Shape the scope around your activity, constraints, decision stage and operating model.
Execution before abstraction
Connect the recommendation to owners, dependencies and next steps. A useful roadmap shows both the preferred option and the conditions needed to make it workable.
THE ENGAGEMENT, IN PRACTICE
A defined question. A usable output. A clear next step.
The structure can be adapted to a focused assessment, a transaction workstream or an implementation mandate. We agree the scope before the work begins.
- Frame the decisionDefine the objective, alternatives, stakeholders and timetable. Agree what the work will answer and what falls outside its scope.
- Build and challenge the evidenceUse relevant research, stakeholder discussions and agreed validation. Test critical assumptions and record unresolved questions.
- Make the options comparablePresent the findings, trade-offs and conditions for commitment. Identify where specialist review or additional verification is necessary.
- Plan the next phaseTranslate the preferred option into priorities, responsibilities and decision gates. Further implementation support is scoped separately where required.
WHO THE WORK IS FOR
Different decision-makers. Distinct priorities.
International companies
Assess entry routes, customers, partners and operational requirements. Build a coherent basis for establishing or expanding a business in the region.
Market entry & setup ↗Investors and deal teams
Challenge the commercial thesis, compare potential targets or partners, and understand the operating assumptions that matter to an investment decision.
Intelligence & due diligence ↗Institutions and leadership teams
Clarify sector dynamics, stakeholder priorities and implementation choices. Turn a complex business question into an evidence-based brief and actionable options.
Explore our sector focus ↗WORKING WITH MEKONG PARTNERS
Before the engagement starts.
Can we begin with a focused assignment?
Yes. A well-defined assessment can be the right starting point when your team needs to resolve one decision before committing to a wider programme. The question, evidence requirements and intended output should be agreed at the outset.
What will the scope and deliverables look like?
They depend on the decision. The proposed scope should specify the workstreams, methods, outputs, timing, client inputs and exclusions. Examples include an options assessment, market or partner brief, commercial diligence report or implementation roadmap.
How do you work with our existing advisors?
Responsibilities can be coordinated with your internal team and existing legal, tax, accounting or technical advisors. We identify the questions requiring their input so commercial and operational findings can be considered alongside specialist advice.
Do you provide regulated legal, audit or technical opinions?
This website does not present Mekong Partners as a licensed law firm, statutory auditor or technical certification body. Where those opinions or approvals are needed, the engagement should identify appropriately qualified specialists and clearly separate their responsibilities.
What should we share for an initial discussion?
A short, non-confidential outline is enough to begin: your company or investment context, the activity under consideration, the decision you face and your timetable. Agree an appropriate confidentiality arrangement before sharing sensitive documents.
Do you support projects in both Vietnam and China?
Our services cover Vietnam and China. The engagement identifies the country, customer segments, locations and local responsibilities involved. A comparison between the two markets is a specific workstream, not an assumption that their commercial conditions or establishment requirements are interchangeable. Our planned Cambodia expansion is presented separately.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
A practical introduction to Mekong Partners.
Explore our advisory capabilities in Vietnam and China, our approach to an engagement and the priorities we help leadership teams assess.
Download the company overview (PDF, 168 KB) ↗START WITH THE QUESTION
What does your team need to decide?
Tell us where you are in the process and what remains uncertain. We can discuss the most useful scope for the next step.
Discuss your project ↗Mekong Partners on LinkedIn ↗