Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is shifting its Asia-Pacific headquarters out of Shanghai, China to Singapore to allow for the “centralized coordination” of its regional operations as Singapore handles more than $14 billion of commodities per year. The company, which is also moving its U.S. headquarters from Decatur to Chicago, Illinois, will also be opening sales offices in South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines to better serve the growing demand in the region. Singapore also happens to be the home to the headquarters of rivals, Wilmar International, Olam International, and Nobel Group which recently joined with China’s food giant Cofco. These measures along with the sale of its fertilizer assets in Brazil and Paraguay and the offer of its chocolate division for sale are a continuation of an ongoing shake-up at the company since its failed A$3.4 billion bid for GrainCorp. The group has also hired Nigel Hart, formerly of GrainCorp. to be regional director for ports and storage.
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