Indonesian Billionaire Prajogo Pangestu's Aster Acquires Stake in Changi Airport Jet Fuel Supplier

Aster, an energy company within the Chandra Asri group controlled by Indonesian billionaire Prajogo Pangestu, is acquiring a stake in a jet fuel supplier serving Singapore's Changi Airport, according to a statement released Friday. The acquisition will let Aster join other major energy companies supplying aviation fuel directly to international airlines at Changi. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

Andre Khor, deputy CEO of Singapore-based Aster, said the acquisition "represents an important step" in the company's expansion into aviation fuels, adding that combined with its refining and storage operations and growing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) capabilities, it strengthens Aster's position to support aviation energy needs in Singapore and the region.

The deal complements Aster's existing SAF activities. In November, Aster partnered with Aether Fuels to develop a SAF manufacturing facility at Pulau Bukom, Singapore's oil refining hub, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2028. The plant is projected to produce up to 50 barrels of SAF per day, or approximately 2,000 tons annually. Aster is also working with Keppel's infrastructure division on an ethanol-to-jet SAF facility on Jurong Island.

The announcement comes one week after Chandra Asri agreed to acquire Jardine Cycle & Carriage's car dealership business in Malaysia and Singapore for S$265 million ($208 million), marking the group's first entry into the automotive sector. Chandra Asri, listed in Jakarta, has been expanding steadily in Singapore: in April 2025, together with Glencore, it acquired Shell's refinery and petrochemical assets in the city-state, and five months later the group purchased Esso's network of petrol stations there. Chandra Asri is controlled by Barito Pacific, the company Pangestu built from a timber business into an energy and petrochemicals conglomerate; his interests also include coal mining company Petrindo Jaya Kreasi, which went public in 2023.

This deal belongs to a broader push by diversified energy groups to move directly into airport fuel supply rather than staying purely upstream in refining and petrochemicals. Chandra Asri's route into Changi mirrors its recent pattern of buying into Singapore's energy infrastructure through the Shell-Glencore refinery deal and the Esso petrol station network, then layering aviation fuel supply on top.

Airport jet fuel supply at hubs like Changi typically runs through a small set of established suppliers with storage, pipeline and airport-access agreements already in place, which is why acquiring a stake in an existing supplier is faster than building new capacity. Pairing that access with SAF projects such as the Pulau Bukom facility and the Jurong Island ethanol-to-jet plant gives Aster both conventional and low-carbon fuel exposure at the same hub.

What happens next depends on regulatory approval of the stake acquisition and on whether the Pulau Bukom SAF plant reaches its planned 2028 start of commercial operations at the stated output of roughly 2,000 tons a year.