Singapore announced Thursday several new initiatives aiming at capturing opportunities in new trading clusters and taking a holistic approach to the development of its energy and chemicals cluster.

Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang announced the new initiatives at the Global Trader Summit 2007, a two-day conference attracting over 200 industry leaders around the world to discuss major trends and fundamental issues shaping the future of global trading systems and markets.

Aiming to catalyze the growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading in Singapore, the government will offer 5 percent tax concession on qualifying income from LNG trading. This tax concession will be available to Global Trader Program (GTP) companies for 10 years, the minister said.

The GTP program, launched by International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) to encourage global companies to conduct offshore trading activities in Singapore, allows companies on the program to enjoy a concessionary tax rate on qualifying income. There are currently over 200 companies under the program.

Similarly, carbon emissions trading companies on the GTP program will also enjoy concessionary tax rates on income derived from emissions trading.

In line with the city-state's efforts to promote the continued growth of the petroleum and chemicals cluster, Lim announced that the GTP companies' trades with eligible chemical manufacturing companies will now qualify for tax concession.

"Currently, GTP companies' trades with refineries and petrochemical complexes in Singapore are considered qualifying trades. This will now be expanded to include chemicals plants," he said.

The other GTP enhancement concerns the use of over-the-counter (OTC) clearing houses, which is an emerging trend due to the increased volatility in global commodity markets.

"Transactions by GTP companies in OTC or exchange-traded commodity derivatives now enjoy concessionary tax rates, if conducted with qualifying counterparties," he said.

Lim also announced the establishment of an International Trading Institute of the Singapore Management University (SMU). The institute will focus on three areas, namely providing training, conducting research, and offering consultancy services.

According to IE Singapore, Singapore is the 16th largest trading nation in the world and it's external trade is more than three times its gross domestic product (GDP). Last year, its external trade grew by 13.2 percent, reaching a total of 810 billion Singapore dollars (about 533 billion U.S. dollars) while physical offshore trade amounted to more than 350 billion U.S. dollars.