Commodity giants' Singapore trading hubs under fire in tax probes
The Singapore trading hubs of the world's largest commodity companies are coming under scrutiny from the governments of some resource-producing countries who say they suspect they are using units in the Southeast Asian financial centre to avoid tax. The companies deny any improper transfer pricing and say they are in Singapore to be closer to Asian clients, to local expertise and trade routes, as the region accounts for a growing share of their business. The world's two largest miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto , between them booked close to $50 billion in revenue in Singapore in 2013, according to documents from the country's corporate registry, and posted a combined net profit of more than $2 billion. Australia and Indonesia's tax authorities say they are investigating whether arrangements like these simply shift profits away from where the commodities are extracted.
