IE Singapore, NTU and Industry Partners Launch New Programme to Enhance Trading Ecosystem

Transcription

1 M E D I A R EL EASE EMBARGOED TILL 12 MAY 2015, 1930HRS IE Singapore, NTU and Industry Partners Launch New Programme to Enhance Trading Ecosystem MR No.: 016/15 Singapore, Tuesday, 12 May In the past 50 years, Singapore has grown to become Asia s largest commodities trading hub. Home to majority of the world s largest commodity trading companies, Singapore has built an effective marketplace of buyers and sellers, as well as key supporting players along the entire commodity value chain. This ecosystem is what global traders require to carry out their business transactions. 2. Complementing this is Singapore s connectivity to the region, established physical and financial infrastructure and logistics capabilities. These allow traders to manage risks, procurement, storage and delivery to multiple markets in the most reliable and costeffective manner. Singapore s strong legal institutions, political, and economic stability further boost the business environment for global trading. 3. These were addressed by Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang at the closing of the Global Traders Dialogue (GTD) today 1. GTD is organised by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the agency that promotes international trade and overseas expansion of Singapore companies. 4. Building on the foundation of Singapore s trade ecosystem, IE Singapore has been working with the industry and academic institutions to build a robust talent pool of trading professionals. At the GTD today, IE Singapore, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and five founding industry partners signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to launch the International Trading Programme (ITP), witnessed by Minister Lim. 1 International Enterprise Singapore is the government agency driving Singapore s external economy.

2 5. The ITP aims to develop a pipeline of talent for the trading sector, particularly the energy and chemicals, agri-commodities, as well as metals and mining industries. This will address the pressing demand for talent who are equipped with both business and technical knowledge for the trading sector in Singapore. 6. Five industry partners will participate in the development and roll-out of the ITP, namely Borouge Pte Ltd, Bright Ruby Resources Pte Ltd, Chevron U.S.A. Inc (Singapore branch), Petrobras Singapore Pte Ltd and Wilmar Trading Pte Ltd. These companies across the energy, chemicals, agri-commodities and metals clusters will provide expert feedback for syllabus design. They will also provide industry knowledge on manpower requirements, sector developments as well as industry access to students through internships and outreach events. IE Singapore and NTU will collaborate with them to conduct academic research, organise workshops and conferences to spur knowledge creation and sharing with the students. 7. Mr Teo Eng Cheong, Chief Executive Officer, IE Singapore, said, Trade continues to contribute to the vibrancy of Singapore s economy and offers good professional jobs for Singaporeans. The ITP supports the common vision shared by IE Singapore and the industry, to nurture a specialised and global-ready workforce. It will also give trading companies direct access to a pipeline of high-quality talent. This complements our well-established infrastructure and vibrant trade ecosystem, which are key factors that continue to enhance Singapore s status as a global trading hub. 8. The ITP will be offered to Engineering, Business and Maritime Studies students in NTU when the new academic year commences in August It will be offered as a special track within the Second Major in Business for NTU engineering students. The programme will also be open to business and maritime studies students as a specialisation. A new Multidisciplinary Centre of Excellence (International Trading) will be established at NTU's Nanyang Business School to engage corporate partners to offer scholarships and organise overseas study trips. The ITP is expected to admit about 100 students every year. 9. Professor Bertil Andersson, President of Nanyang Technological University said, International trading is increasingly important as the world becomes borderless. This partnership between NTU, IE Singapore and our industry partners will further enhance Singapore s status as a leading global trading hub by grooming a steady stream of Page 2 of 7

3 industry-ready NTU graduates who will be able to contribute to the continued development and growth of this exciting sector. 10. IE Singapore is committed to grow the pool of specialised talent for the trading sector. The ITP is the second university programme driven by IE Singapore and supported by a unique public-private-partnership. In 2007, the International Trading Institute@SMU was formed. About 300 students have graduated from the programme to date. Both programmes are successful outcomes of IE Singapore s long-term collaborative efforts with the industry. Annex A: Opening Remarks by Mr Seah Moon Ming, Chairman, IE Singapore, at Global Trader Dialogue 2015 Annex B: International Trading Programme Details ---End--- Note to Editor Please use IE Singapore or IE if an acronym for International Enterprise Singapore is required. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the use of statistics cited in our media releases, website or Statlink, should be attributed to IE Singapore. Issued by IE Singapore. For media enquiries, please contact: Kai Lynn MOK Manager, Corporate Communications Group DID : mok_kai_lynn@iesingapore.gov.sg About International Enterprise Singapore International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is the government agency driving Singapore s external economy. It spearheads the overseas growth of Singapore-based companies and promotes international trade. Trade has always been the backbone of Singapore s economy. In addition to promoting export of goods and services, IE Singapore also attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a thriving trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters. Renowned worldwide for their dedication to quality and innovation, Singapore-based companies make ideal business partners. With its global network in over 35 locations spanning many developed and emerging markets, the agency connects businesses with relevant Singapore-based companies for their business expansion by: helping to identify and cultivate relationships with Singapore-based partners that have a pan-asian or global presence Page 3 of 7

4 keeping companies abreast of the latest business trends and opportunities in Asia Visit for more information. About Nanyang Technological University A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. It has a new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London. NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research NTU (ERI@N) and the Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI). For more information, visit Page 4 of 7

5 ANNEX A Opening Remarks by Mr Seah Moon Ming, Chairman, International Enterprise Singapore, At the Global Trader Dialogue May 2015, 1840 hrs, Capella Singapore Great Expectations: Tale of Two Giants Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, 1. A very good evening and welcome to the Global Trader Dialogue The Dialogue provides a platform for an exchange of ideas among the global trading community. I am delighted to see so many members of the trading fraternity from Singapore and around the world gathered here this evening. 2. This year, the Dialogue focuses on China and India. Today, these two countries are shaping developments on a global scale. They will continue to drive Asia s growth. China is entering a slower but more sustainable phase of growth, and India is restarting its growth engines under its new leadership. 3. China and India are home to over a third of the global population. Together, they are significant drivers of global demand for natural resources. China is today the world s largest net importer of petroleum, and the world s third largest LNG importer 2. Owing to the needs of its manufacturing industries, it is the world s largest importer of copper as well. Likewise, India is the world s fourth largest importer of petroleum and LNG, and third largest importer of copper 3. In the agricultural commodities sector, India leads the world in edible oil imports. 4. Given these developments and our proximity to these two countries, Singapore is uniquely positioned within Asia. As consumption in emerging Asia rises, intra-asia trade will grow. Our strong connectivity to the region plays a critical role. Singapore is situated at the crossroads of major shipping and air routes, and has strong logistics networks. We value the partnership and cooperation forged with countries in the region over the decades, and we look forward to growing these trading relationships as well as developing new ones. 5. Singapore has partnered with China and India, on several meaningful projects. We embarked on the Suzhou Industrial Park project in Built to encourage hightechnology and innovation industries, the Industrial Park contributed to 15 per cent of Suzhou s GDP in Following its success, the two governments initiated the Tianjin Eco-city project in 2007, which was developed to become a model for sustainable cities. We are now in talks with the Chinese government to assess the feasibility of a third bilateral project in China s western province. 6. Singapore is also working with the government of Andhra Pradesh in India for Master Planning, Seed Development and Capacity Building for its new Capital City. I am pleased to say that our local companies, Surbana International Consultants 2 US Energy Information Administration, China-Analysis, February 4, US Energy Information Administration, India-Analysis, June 26, Esther Teo, The Straits Times, Singapore, China mark 20 years of ties in Suzhou, 27 October, 2014 Page 5 of 7

6 and Jurong Consultants, have taken the lead on this project. This bears testimony to the long standing bilateral links between India and Singapore. 7. By staying relevant within this thriving region as well as the world at large, Singapore will continue to support global economic growth through international trade. 8. IE Singapore will continue to engage industry players to enhance our trade offerings, and to promote the development of the commodities cluster. We welcome any feedback or suggestions that you may have. 9. With this, I would like to thank Minister Lim for gracing our event, and our sponsors who have made this event possible. I wish you all a fruitful Dialogue and networking session. Thank you. Page 6 of 7

7 ANNEX B ITP Programme Details NTU s College of Engineering (CoE) and Nanyang Business School (NBS) will jointly establish the multidisciplinary Centre of Excellence (International Trading) (CEIT), which will administer the new International Trading Programme (ITP). Courses Among the core courses covered in the ITP are: a) International Tax and Trading Law b) Commodities Trading and Risk Management c) Commodities Geology and Metallurgy d) Trade Practices & Incoterms e) Shipping Chartering Course Topics Commodities Trading and Risk Management Global and regional overview of Commodities Trading sector o Emphasis on hydrocarbon sector - oil & gas Product and refining essentials Overview on logistics, markets and trades o Market Segmentation (Hubs, centres and more) Transaction types Key features and anatomy Market Plus - Essentials on pricing, methodology, valuation, linkage and trading Exposure - Translation, identification, reporting, management Trading and exposure risk management Management Systems and Tools Commodities Geology and Metallurgy Composition, structure, geological processes, metallic and non-metallic ore formation Methods of exploration and extraction Sustainability and environmental concerns Metallurgy of mineral and metal processing, economic classification of metals, metal production and recycling, principles of mineral beneficiation Techniques for liberation and separation of minerals Principles of application of pyro-metallurgical, hydro-metallurgical, electrometallurgical extractive processes Trade Practices & Incoterms Importance of sales contract and contract with the carrier Inter-modal and multi-modal transports Agreements of sale and purchase Incoterms Methods of payment of freight, characteristics and bill of lading o Limitations and liability Risk and insurance of vessels and cargo Basic chartering, ship broking terms, o Legal and commercial aspects of chartering contracts and carriage of goods by sea o E.g. Hague / Visby Rules, carrier s liabilities and limitations, exceptions, defences available, burden of proof Page 7 of 7