00:03It has one of the lowest company tax rates in the developed world, and is a well-known
00:08haven for financial institutions.
00:10I've come to Singapore, a country with no natural gas reserves, that's now one of the
00:14world's biggest traders of it, and much of that gas is Australia's.
00:18In the half trillion dollar a year trade, one company stands tall.
00:23Shell accounts for around one-fifth of Australia's LNG production.
00:27And Australia accounts for around a quarter of Shell's global LNG supply.
00:34According to company documents, between 2017 and 2024, Singaporean-based Shell Global LNG
00:41bought US$83 billion of gas.
00:44It then sold for US$105 billion.
00:46That's US$22 billion more than it paid for it.
00:50About 85% of that gas was sourced from other Shell companies, including those in Australia.
00:56There is absolutely zero reason why those trades could not be done from Australia.
01:02Shell acknowledged that most of its Australian gas was sold through Singapore, saying the
01:07island nation provided access to markets and had significant expertise in trading, marketing
01:13and shipping.
01:14In the eight-year period, Shell Global made a pre-tax profit of US$2.8 billion.
01:20It paid US$178 million to Singaporean authorities.
01:24That's a tax rate of 6.3%, which isn't bad when you compare it to Australia's corporate tax
01:30rate of 30%.
01:32To me, the warning bells would be ringing in terms of whether there's a profit shifting
01:37risk there.
01:38Shell said the company has an ongoing and transparent dialogue with the Australian taxation office.
01:43Ultimately, this becomes a game where the industry will try and minimise this tax as much as legally
01:50possible and the tax office is aware of that and makes its rules accordingly.
01:59Back in Singapore, the game of shells goes on, with billions on the line.
02:04Enchanted by the UN, it's customised by the UN.
02:04There will be the certainty that the UN is a standard of US$7 million to fill a gap on
02:06land,
02:06and the UN is still in their profession, and the UN is still in the UN.
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