On a former Royal Air Force base at Seletar, close to Singapore’s border with Malaysia, Rolls-Royce is close to completing its first factory outside the UK for manufacturing the Trent 900 and 1000 engines that power the Airbus A380 and Boeing’s Dreamliner.

It is exactly the kind of investment on which heads of state and government will be focused as they fly into the Indonesian holiday island of Bali this week for the annual summit of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Yet there is a paradox. Asked about the appeal of Selatar, Jonathan Asherson, Rolls-Royce’s south-east Asia head, says: “We did look at other Asian locations, but once we got down to the detailed analysis Singapore stood out quite clearly.” He points to the fast-growing Asian market for engines for wide-bodied jets, an existing relationship with Singapore Airlines and the availability of skilled workers.