Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori) has reached agreement with SATS Ltd. ("SATS"), a major airline service provider based in Singapore, concerning Mitsui's equity participation in SATS-affiliated food manufacturing and distribution companies through a joint venture to be established by SATS.

Mitsui has decided to invest approximately JPY4.0 billion for a 15% stake in a joint venture to participate in the business operations of SATS subsidiaries engaged in food manufacturing and distribution in India, Thailand, China, and Singapore. One of the core businesses of SATS is inflight catering, and Mitsui will collaborate with SATS to expand into the manufacturing and distribution of frozen foods and ready-to-eat products.

This agreement follows an earlier strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Mitsui and SATS, concluded in April 2023, to create a joint venture to manufacture and distribute food products in the Asian region and beyond.

Asia is home to around 4.3 billion people, accounting for about 50% of the world's population. The growth of the middle class is driving a trend of more sophisticated and diversified diets, leading to increased demand for frozen foods and ready-to-eat products in Asia, and this market is expected to continue to expand.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened public awareness of food hygiene and health in Asian countries, resulting in a growing demand for safe, delicious, and affordable value-added foods. This trend is expected to accelerate in step with economic growth, and Asia is seen as having the potential to become a major consumer market in the future.

With the acquisition of Worldwide Flight Services, headquartered in Paris, in April 2023, SATS has expanded its operations globally, including to Europe and North America. SATS runs its core activities—air cargo terminal operations and inflight catering—over 215 locations in more than 27 countries. At Singapore's Changi Airport, which is a major Asian gateway, SATS supplies inflight meals to Singapore Airlines as a major customer. Efficient inflight catering and demand management are the keys to its operational ability to avoid both shortages and overproduction.

With a strong commitment to food quality, SATS has developed high standards of food safety and expertise and capabilities in many areas from its inflight catering business. These include advanced freezing and refrigeration technologies, and an extensive knowledge of regional dietary customs and religious requirements, such as halal food. This give SATS the capacity to deliver 800 different meal menu options per week and serve 120,000 inflight meals daily.

Through its investment in SATS, Mitsui will establish a strong presence in Asia Markets, with a particular focus on India and China, for value-added food products, by leveraging its expertise in global procurement of food ingredients and packaging materials, cold chain logistics, distribution and marketing.

Mitsui has identified "Wellness Ecosystem Creation" as one of its key strategic initiatives in its Medium-term Management Plan 2026. Through this investment Mitsui aims to expand in value added manufacturing as a part of its food and nutrition business cluster, cater to increasingly diverse consumer lifestyles, and contribute to people's health and wellbeing in Asia.

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