Are there any differences that makes consulting in South East Asia unique?

consulting MBB SEA South east asia
New answer on Oct 27, 2023
6 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Jun 14, 2020

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Clara
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replied on Jun 14, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Actually, SEA is a very wide and heterogeneous area.

For instance, Singapore has nothing to do with the rest of the offices, in terms of payroll, difficulties to get in, etc.

Which KPIs are the ones that interest you?

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Cristian
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replied on Oct 27, 2023
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

This is a great networking question!

Yes, there are some. But you can get the best answers from consultants who actually work in the region. 

Here's how to identify target profiles and then start networking with them:


Best,

Cristian

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Benjamin
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updated an answer on Oct 27, 2023
Ex-BCG Principal | 8+ years consulting experience in SEA | BCG top interviewer & top performer

Hi,

I worked in SEA for ~8+ years at both T2 and MBB. Sharing my perspective on how SEA is different from other markets (in particular developed markets).

  1. Maturity of the industry in the country/region
    • Generally - SEA is still a growth market and consulting is not as mature yet
    • Because of this, there is a higher chance of getting more ‘interesting’ projects vs very mature/saturated developed markets
    • At the same time, you may also get some types of projects which are quite ‘basic’ e.g. bringing client from 0 to 1 instead of from 3 to 5
  2. Make up of the local economy/industry landscape
    • There will be certain types of projects and clients that are more unique to SEA, for e.g. Family-owned conglomerates which form significant part of the local economies in some countries
  3. Office / unit organization
    • Very common for SEA to be treated as one business unit (formally or informally) and therefore you will have a high chance of travelling for work within SEA
    • This is very different from large mono-country business units (e.g. India, China, Japan etc)

Happy to answer in more detail to anyone interested in this - just drop me a dm!

(edited)

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Ian
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updated an answer on Jun 14, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

I would say its variety of work and cultures.

  • You have developing countries (i.e. Philippines) and the most advanced nations (Singapore, Hongkong) all grouped together.
  • These countries have very different cultures and work experiences/expectations.
  • Furthermore, this also allows for diversity of industry exposure (oil & case, consumer products, finance, etc.)

You won't get this in, say, Europe, North America, or the Australia/New Zealand :)

(edited)

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Antonello
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updated an answer on Jun 16, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, I would add also the fact to be in a fast-growing economy, that let consulting truly working in strategy, big investments, and large transformation (differently from more consolidated countries, where the focus is now on operations, implementation, cost-saving, digitalization, ...)

Best,
Antonello

(edited)

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Luca
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replied on Jun 15, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

Generally speaking, consulting experience in a specific country depends on the local culture. Doing consultancy you will see, amplified, all the differences and details that you would encounter working in that country.

The areas that are more sensitive to the country are:

  • Project typologies (M&A, cost cutting, increasing revenues..)
  • Clients (especially public vs. non public sector)
  • Salaries (it can vary a lot among Asia)
  • Work culture (within the team and exposure with clients)
  • Timetable (work life balance)

Best,
Luca

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Clara gave the best answer

Clara

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McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut
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