Southeast Asia SAF: Policies, Demand and Project Status

9 min read · Oct 28, 2026 · By Alex

Southeast Asia SAF is a region of six markets with six different stories. Singapore is a hub, Indonesia and Malaysia hold the feedstock, Thailand has an established biofuel industry, and Vietnam and the Philippines are earlier. For a developer, the common mistake is therefore to treat them as one market. Overall, this guide gives the structure for reading each country: what is mandated, what is only announced, who the buyers are and what feedstock is available.

In short

In practice, Southeast Asia SAF demand is forming country by country, not as one regional rule.
As a result, each country needs its own read: policy status, buyers, feedstock and ports.
Moreover, Singapore already collects a levy and buys centrally, which makes it the only market here with a funded buyer.
By contrast, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam still run on proposals or unpublished penalties, and Thailand began with voluntary commitments.
Meanwhile, part of the demand you can reach sits outside the region, through the EU mandate and through airlines covered by CORSIA.
Therefore, I date every line below: policy in this region moves faster than any article can.

Why the region matters for Southeast Asia SAF

For one thing, the region combines large aviation hubs, a deep agricultural residue base and ports that can ship fuel to Europe and North Asia. Indonesia and Malaysia account for 58 % and 25 % of global palm oil production respectively, according to White & Case. That gives the region a feedstock position that Europe cannot replicate at home.

At the same time, the demand signal is partly imported. The EU’s ReFuelEU Aviation requires a 2 % SAF share from 2025 and 70 % from 2050, and European suppliers must meet it whether or not they can buy locally. In addition, CORSIA brings 134 states into scope from 1 January 2027, including eight in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Moreover, the regional market is small today and that is the opportunity. A 1 % blend on Singapore’s traffic is a modest volume, yet it is contracted, funded and dated. Consequently, the first bankable offtakes in Southeast Asia will come from schemes with a collection mechanism, not from the highest headline percentage.

Southeast Asia SAF country by country

Each block below answers the same four questions in the same order, so you can compare markets without re-reading them. Firstly, what the state has actually enacted. Secondly, who can sign a contract today. Thirdly, which feedstock is available and whether exports are restricted. Fourthly, which port can move the fuel.

Singapore

Singapore is the hub: air traffic, a refining and bunkering base, and a government that acts early. In practice, the design is a levy, not a supplier mandate. From 1 January 2027, passengers on flights departing Singapore pay a charge set by distance band and cabin, from S$1.00 to S$10.40 in economy and S$4.00 to S$41.60 in premium cabins. Cargo follows from 1 January 2028, and the national target is a 1 % SAF uplift in 2027 rising to 3 % to 5 % by 2030.

The money goes into a statutory fund, and a state-owned company aggregates levy demand with voluntary demand, procures SAF and manages the environmental attributes separately from the fuel. Therefore, the buyer for a producer is that central purchaser, not an individual airline. See also Singapore’s bunkering bet for the maritime side.

Malaysia

Malaysia combines feedstock with a policy that is still a proposal. The government is developing a 1 % blend for international flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with January 2027 as a possible start, under a blueprint that targets 47 % by 2050. However, the measure had not become law when I checked, and the airport handled about 42 million international passengers in 2024.

On the supply side, the country has moved faster than the rule. A 350,000 tonne per year plant in Johor has been producing since October 2025 and shipping to Europe, a second plant of 650,000 tonnes per year is due in 2028, and the first locally blended SAF reached an airline by pipeline in 2025. As a result, Malaysia’s risk is not feedstock but offtake: capacity arrives before the mandate.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s angle is feedstock scale and a domestic biofuel machine that already works. A 2026 energy ministry decree sets SAF at 1 % in 2027 and 2028 and 5 % in 2029 and 2030, initially at two major airports, with volumes per entity to be fixed separately. In addition, implementation depends on feedstock, funding and infrastructure readiness, which is a soft condition rather than a date.

The state refiner is the only domestic producer, with one unit at 477,000 litres per day that can make SAF and a larger renewable diesel unit due in 2027, and no dedicated SAF subsidy exists. Moreover, the government has restricted exports of used cooking oil and palm oil mill effluent, so a project that planned to buy those residues abroad should check the rule before it signs.

Thailand

Thailand’s angle is an established biofuel industry and a specification that already exists. Jet A-1 and SAF standards took effect on 1 January 2026, with SAF limited to HEFA under ASTM D7566, and the blend rises from 1 % in 2026 to 5 % to 8 % from 2033. In practice, the first phase runs on voluntary commitments signed as memorandums of understanding, so the percentage is a signal rather than a duty.

Supply is real, though small. One 1 million litre per day HEFA plant using used cooking oil was due to start commercial operations in the second quarter of 2026, a co-processing unit of 16,438 litres per day is already running, and capacity is projected to grow from 0.28 million to 2.22 million litres per day by 2037. Consequently, Thailand can supply its own first phase, which limits the import window for a new entrant.

Vietnam

Vietnam’s angle is early-stage policy and the question of who will lead. In September 2026, the Ministry of Construction consulted on a draft circular that would merge two environmental circulars and create the country’s first blending obligation: 1 % for international flights in 2030, rising to 10 % from 2040, with domestic flights starting at 1 % in 2032.

The draft also builds a full CORSIA monitoring and verification regime, which matters more than the percentages for a lender. However, it is a draft, no incentive mechanism is detailed, and the final text will decide how SAF eligibility and carbon intensity are calculated. Therefore, I treat Vietnam as a 2030 market with a 2026 legal question.

Philippines

By contrast, the Philippines is at the start. The government is exploring a 1 % blend by 2030, a committee led by the civil aviation authority is due to recommend it, and the country has no domestic SAF production today. In addition, SAF costs about four times conventional jet fuel there, and aviation fuel is around 3 % of national fuel demand.

That gap is the whole story. A mandate would give investors a guaranteed market, which is the argument the energy ministry makes, but the runway to 2030 is long and the feedstock chain is unbuilt. As a result, the Philippines is a partner-search market, not a supply market, for the next few years.

Southeast Asia SAF: what is mandated, what is only announced

Lenders treat a binding rule with a penalty very differently from a roadmap. As a result, I separate the two on one page, with dates, and I keep the status column visible.

Market	Status on 3 November 2026	What is enforceable
Singapore	Enacted and collecting	Levy from 1 January 2027 for passengers, 2028 for cargo; 1 % uplift target
Thailand	Standards in force, blend voluntary	Fuel specification and HEFA limit; blend by memorandum of understanding
Indonesia	Decree adopted, conditions attached	Percentages in the decree; start depends on readiness tests
Malaysia	Proposed	Nothing yet; 1 % at Kuala Lumpur is a proposal
Vietnam	Draft under consultation	Nothing yet; circular not issued
Philippines	Under study	Nothing yet; committee recommendation pending

In practice, only one row gives a producer a counterparty with money today. Two rows give a producer a legal duty with a date. Three rows give a producer a conversation. Therefore, the table is a ranking of near-term bankability, not of ambition.

What this means for a developer's Southeast Asia SAF offtake search

Firstly, list the buyers in your country: airlines, fuel suppliers, traders and, in Singapore, the central purchaser.
Then, list the buyers abroad you can reach: EU suppliers facing a 2 % share, and airlines with CORSIA duties.
Match each to a policy that gives them a reason to buy, and note whether the reason is a fine, a levy or a voluntary target.
Start the conversation with the one that has the strongest reason and the shortest logistics chain.

For the contract side, see offtake agreements. Meanwhile, for the EU route, see Export SAF to Europe. Lastly, see SAF Mandates by Country for the comparison framework and sustainable aviation fuel for the sector view.

Moreover, I would not build a Southeast Asia SAF plan on the assumption that the region converges. The six schemes differ in instrument, obliged party and penalty, and each one will move at its own speed. Consequently, a project that sells into two markets needs two contracts, two certification paths and two price logics.

Sources

Sources

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Airline domain sustainability initiatives, last updated 20 October 2026, and the media releases of 25 March 2026 and 3 September 2026, read in the corpus.
White & Case, Ready for take-off: SAF opportunity for Indonesia and Malaysia, 2026, for palm oil shares and the blueprint targets.
International Trade Administration, Malaysia Energy Sustainable Aviation Fuel, consulted 3 November 2026.
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Biofuels Annual, Indonesia, report ID2026-0033, 14 August 2026.
The Nation, Thailand mandates 1 % SAF blend for jet fuel from January 1, 2026, 5 January 2026.
Asian SAF Alliance, Vietnam proposes first SAF blending mandate, 17 September 2026.
Philstar, Philippines plans to mandate 1 % SAF mix by 2030, 8 October 2026.
ICAO, CORSIA States for Chapter 3 State Pairs, seventh edition, 16 July 2026, for the 134 participating states.

FAQ

Is there a SAF mandate in Southeast Asia?

Not one regional mandate. Singapore runs a levy, Thailand has standards in force, Indonesia has a decree, and three markets are still at proposal stage.

Which country is the best market for SAF?

It depends on what you need: demand, feedstock or a port. As a result, no single country has all three.

Can a plant in one country sell to another?

Yes, if the fuel is certified and the buyer accepts it. In practice, the levy design and the certification scheme decide.

Where do I start?

With the buyer, not the policy. Then check which rule gives that buyer a reason to sign this year.

How do I compare countries?

Use the same four questions: policy status, buyers, feedstock, ports. Moreover, add the penalty, because it predicts whether the buyer will pay a premium.