Wilmar sees limited impact from Middle East conflict, cites indirect cost pressures

[SINGAPORE] Wilmar International foresees “certain indirect impact” on its operations from the ongoing Middle East conflict, but believes its current structure is sufficient to manage the situation.

The group’s exposure to the Middle East is not significant, with contributions from the region accounting for a single-digit share of its total revenue, said the company in a bourse filing on Friday (Apr 17).

The “certain indirect impact” on its operations includes, for example, increases in freight, insurance and fertiliser costs, as well as volatility in commodity prices.

Still, commodity volatility is part and parcel of its business, said Wilmar. “We have been able to manage it quite well, despite the shocks in recent years. Therefore, we believe our present structure is good enough to handle the current situation.”

Wilmar was responding to questions from the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias, ahead of its annual general meeting on Apr 23.

The group noted that its operations are predominantly based in Asia and Africa, and that its investments have been largely focused on these two regions.

“Given uncertainty around how prolonged the current conflict will be, the group’s long-term capital allocation decisions have not changed.”

Sias also asked how Wilmar oversees major legal and regulatory proceedings in the group’s global operations, and the role of independent directors in supervising investigations and legal strategy, particularly for cases in China and Indonesia.

In November 2025, Wilmar announced that its Chinese unit was found guilty of contract fraud by a Chinese court and ordered to jointly bear losses amounting to 1.88 billion yuan (S$345.6 million).

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A month before that, the company reported that the general manager of its Indonesian unit had been charged over unlawful acts related to the importation of raw sugar in 2016.

Wilmar said it “does not tolerate any corrupt or illegal practices, and that strong disciplinary action will be taken against any staff found to be in breach of these instructions”.

“Disciplinary action will also be taken against employees who have knowledge of such violations but conceal such information from the group, or who take detrimental action against others who report such violations.”

Shares of Wilmar ended Friday 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$3.84, before the announcement.