Daily Briefing: Wilmar may invest up to $1.38b in Russian soybean production; Lee warns ASEAN may need to choose over US or China amidst trade war escalation

And Scoot to move its operation to Changi Airport Terminal 1 by 2019.

From Reuters:

Wilmar International may inject capital that could reach up to $1.38b (US$732m) in the soybean production and processing as well as the transhipment of soybean concentrates in Russia’s Far East, a Russian regional ministry revealed.

Wilmar’s long-term investment programme in the Far East has been developed with Russian support, the ministry for the development of the Far East said in a statement, summing up meetings between officials and potential investors on the sidelines of a regional conference in Singapore, which President Vladimir Putin attended this week.

The ministry said the potential long-term investment as part of the programme could reach $732 million, but so far the investor was ready for the first stage of the project, which requires only $13.75m (US$10m) to start soybean production on 10,000 ha.

“If the project is successful and we are given more land, the investment will grow to involve building processing plants, storage and port facilities,” Wilmar told Reuters.

Read more here.

From Bloomberg:

Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong cautioned that Southeast Asian nations may have to opt for the US or China as the trade war between the two giant economies continues to escalate.

“The circumstances may come where Asean will have to choose one or the other,” Lee said on Thursday night at the close of a regional summit hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “I hope it does not happen soon.”

Lee warned that the rules-based multilateral order is “fraying” and called for greater economic integration in the region. He said ASEAN tries to be friends with all major powers, and needs to understand where it may need to make a choice between them.

“If you’re talking about economic cooperation, theoretically that is win-win,” Lee said. “But if the global economy pulls apart into different blocs,” he added, “then Asean will be put in a difficult position.”

Read more here.

From Yahoo! News Singapore:

Scoot will be transferring its operation to Changi Airport Terminal 1 from Terminal 2 by Q4 2019 to access Terminal 1's upgraded facilities which will give their customers a better experience.

Changi Airport has been upgrading its oldest terminal, expanding its passenger handling capacity for future growth. For example, the recently-refurbished Departure Hall features a central Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) Zone where passengers can check in and drop off their bags at the self-service automated machines.

Lee Lik Hsin, Scoot’s chief executive officer, said, “The move to T1 will be beneficial for several reasons, chief of which being that it will allow us to continue serving our growing customer base comfortably and meet their needs for a fast and fuss-free pre-flight experience.

“We are working hard to achieve a seamless transition for our customers, employees and service partners, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to our new home in T1 next year.”

Read more here.