Alkagesta has linked its participation in a Singapore university networking event to its efforts to develop local talent for its marine fuels business. In a company-published account, it said it attended Industry Networking Night 2026 on 15 October, meeting Singapore Management University students with an interest in shipping and commodities. The event was organised by the Maritime Merchants Society with support from ITI@SMU.
The company was represented by Agshin Bakirzade, its APAC commodity trading director, and Afiq Salim, senior marine fuel trader. According to Alkagesta, students sought information about careers in trading, operations and trade finance. Its representatives discussed the practical aspects of daily work in marine fuels, giving attendees an industry perspective on the roles they were considering.
Alkagesta presented the engagement as part of its longer-term development in Singapore, which it described as the world’s largest marine fuels hub. The company said Singapore had played a central role in the growth of Alkagesta Asia, reporting that the business reached approximately 250,000 metric tonnes a month during its first full year of operations. The account did not provide a breakdown of that volume.
The company said attracting and developing local employees was important to establishing a lasting presence as the hub grows. It also linked university engagement to the commitments to people and communities set out in its ESG Framework. The student discussions therefore sat alongside the company’s stated emphasis on workforce development, rather than focusing solely on the commercial scale of its Asian operations.
Alkagesta also pointed to what it described as a record first half of 2026, saying that performance had generated a need for additional skills across trading, operations and finance. Its account did not quantify recruitment needs or announce specific vacancies, internships or university hiring programmes arising from the networking evening.
Read the original announcement on Alkagesta.