Rikvin promotes GTP status

   Rikvin, a company that facilitates Singapore company incorporation, offshore company setup, accounting, taxation and other related corporate services, has begun a new push to get companies to sign up for the Global Trader Program (GTP) to enhance their trade with Singapore.
   The Southeast Asian nation has extended the window to apply for the program.
   According to Rikvin, recent improvements to the GTP will help Singapore attract high-growth international trading companies because it eases the application and acceptance to the trade program that encourages global companies to use Singapore as a regional base for trade-related activities from procurement to distribution.
   Currently, there are more than 270 companies with the GTP status that enjoy a concessionary tax rate of 10 percent on qualifying offshore trading income. Qualifying transactions include principal trades with offshore parties or other GTP companies on both the buy and sell legs. Physical trades may be offshore, transshipments, or re-exports.
   The company did note that only non-value added portions of re-export trade will qualify under the GTP provisions.
   Similar to foreign- and free-trade zone programs, the benefits of GTP apply to certain products and companies that deal with them. Some of the most prolific commodities include:

• Petroleum and petroleum products
• Agricultural commodities and bulk edible products
• Building and industrial materials
• Consumer products
• Industrial products
• Machinery components
• Metals and minerals
• Electronic and electrical products
• Carbon credits

   Rikvin said the expansion of the GTP will help both traders as well as Singapore’s commodity markets. The program currently grants companies an initial, non-renewable three-year status, but if they establish a global trade network based in Singapore and provide positive growth projections, they can seek a five-year renewal of their GTP status.