International Business English国际商务英语(英文版).doc

International Business English国际商务英语Lesson 1 International Business 第一课 国际商务 *International business refers to transaction between parties from different countries. Sometimes business across the borders of different customs areas of the same country is also regarded as import and export, such as business between Hong Kong and Taiwan. *International business involves more factors and thus is more complicated than domestic business. The following are some major differences between the two. 1). The countries involved often have different legal systems, and one or more parties will have to adjust themselves to operate in compliance with the foreign law. 2). Different counties usually use different currencies and the parties concerned will have to decide which currency to use and do everything necessary as regards conversion etc. Uncertainties and even risks are often involved in the use of a foreign currency.3).Cultural differences including language, customs, traditions, religion, value, behaviour etc. often constitute challenges and even traps for people engaged in international business. 4). Countries vary in natural and economic conditions and may have different policies towards foreign trade and investment, making international business more complex than domestic business. *With the development of economic globalisation, few people or companies can completely stay away from international business. Some knowledge in this respect is necessary both for the benefit of enterprises and personal advancement.*International business first took the form of commodity trade, i.e. exporting and importing goods produced or manufactured in one country for consumption or resale in another. This form of trade is also referred to as visible trade. Later a different kind of trade in the form of transportation, communication, banking, insurance, consulting, information etc. gradually became more and more important. This type of trade is called invisible trade. Today, the contribution of service industries of the developed countries constitutes over 60% of their gross domestic products and account for an increasing proportion of world trade. *Another important form of international business is supplying capital by residents of one country to another, known as international investments. Such investments can be classified into two categories. The first kind of investments, foreign direct investments or FDI for short is made for returns through controlling the enterprises or assets invested in in a host country.*The host country is a foreign country where the investor operates, while the country where the headquarters of the investor is located is called the home country. The second kind of investment, portfolio investment, refers to purchases of foreign financial assets for a purpose other than controlling. Such financial assets may be stocks, bonds or certificates of deposit.Stocks are also called capital stocks or bonds. Bonds are papers issued by a government or a firm with promise to pay back the money lent or invested together with interest. The maturity period of a bond is at least one year, often longer, for example five, or even ten years. Certificates of deposit generally involve large amounts, say 25 thousand US dollars*Besides trade and investment, international licensing and franchising are sometimes taken as a means of entering a foreign market. In licensing, a firm leases the right to use its intellectual property to a firm in another country. Such intellectual property may be trademarks, brand names, patents, copyrights or technology. Firms choose licensing because they do not have to make cash payments to start business, and can simply receive income in the form of royaltyBesides, they can benefit from locational advantages of foreign operation without any obligations in ownership or management. The use of licensing is particularly encouraged by high customs duty and non-tariff barriers on the part of the host country. However it is not advisable to use licensing in countries with weak intellectual property protection since the licensor may have difficulty in enforcing licensing agreement.*Franchising can be regarded as a special form of licensing. Under franchising, a firm, called the franchisee, is allowed to operate in the name of another, called the franchiser who provides the former with trademarks, brand names, logos, and operating techniques for royalty. In comparison with the relation between the licenser and the licensee, the franchiser has more control over and provides more support for the franchisee.*The franchiser can develop internationally and gain access to useful information about the local market with little risk and cost, and the franchisee can easily get into a business with established products or services. Franchising is fairly popular especially in hotel and restaurant business.*Other forms for participating in international business are management contract, contract manufacturing, and turnkey project. *Under a management contract, one company offers managerial or other specialized services to another within a particular period for a flat payment or a percentage of the relevant business volume. Sometimes bonuses based on profitability or sales growth are also specified in management contracts.Government policies often have a lot to do with management contracts. When a government forbids foreign ownership in certain industries it considers to be of strategic importance but lacks the expertise for operation, management contracts may be a practical choice enabling a foreign company to operate in the industry without owning the assets*By contract manufacturing, a firm can concentrate on their strongest part in the value chain, e.g. marketing, while contracting with foreign companies for the manufacture of their products. Such firms can reduce the amount of their resources devoted to manufacture and benefit from location advantages from production in host countries. However, loss of control over the production process may give rise to problems in respect of quality and time of delivery.*For an international turnkey project, a firm signs a contract with a foreign purchaser and undertakes all the designing, contracting and facility equipping before handing it over to the latter upon completion. Such projects are often large and complex and take a long period to complete. Payment for a turnkey project may be made at fixed total price or on a cost plus basis. The latter way of payment shifts the burden of possible additional cost over the original budget onto the purchaser*BOT is a popular variant of the turnkey project where B stands for Build, O for operate and T for transfer. For a BOT project, a firm operate a facility for a period of time after building it up before finally transferring it to a foreign company. Making profit from operating the project for a period is the major difference between BOT and the common turnkey project. Needless to say, the contractor has to bear the financial and other risks that may occur in the period of operation.*Some Words and Expressions customs area关税区 in compliance with 遵从，遵照 conversion n.货币兑换 visible trade 有形贸易 resale n.转售 invisible trade 无形贸易 gross domestic product 国内生产总值 for short 缩写为 account for 占比例headquarters n.总部 trap n.陷阱，圈套 portfolio investment 证券投资 stocks n.股票 bonds n.债券 maturity n.（票据等）到期，到期日 certificate of deposit 大额存单 other than 而不是 licensing n.许可经营 franchising n.特许经营n.商标 advisable adj.可行的，适当的 patent n.专利 royalty n.专利使用费，许可使用费，版税 copyright n.版权 licensor n.给予许可的人 licensee n.接受许可的人 franchiser n.给予特许的人 franchisee n.接受特许的人 logo n.标识，标记management contract 管理合同 expertise n.专门知识 bonus n.红利，奖金，津贴 flat adj.一律的，无变动的 contract manufacturing 承包生产 value chain 价值链 turnkey project 交钥匙工程 BOT(Build, Operate, Transfer） 建设，经营，移交 Stand for 表示，代表 variant n.变形，变体Lesson two Income Level and the World Market 第二课 收入水平和世界市场This lesson discusses the relation between the income level and the market potential, and the features of high income, middle income and low income markets.Special analyses are made on Triad, i.e. the markets of North America, European Union and Japan, as well as other markets that are closely related with China. The first two paragraphs mainly deal with GNP and GDP, two important concepts used to indicate the total size of an economy. GDP, Gross Domestic Product, stresses the place of production while GNP, Gross National Product, on the ownership of production factors. GDP is used by most countries now where as GNP was more popular before the 1990s. The actual figures of a countrys GNP and GDP are, however, quite similar in most cases and we can use whichever figure that is available.TEXT: In assessing the potential of a market, people often look at its income level since it provides clues about the purchasing power of its residents. The concepts national income and national product have roughly the same value and can be used interchangeably if our interest is in their sum total which is measured as the market value of the total output of goods and services of an economy in a given period, usually a year. The differenceis only in their emphasis. The former stresses the income generated by turning out the products while the latter, the value of the products themselves. Gross National Product, GNP, and Gross Domestic Product, GDP, are two important concepts used to indicate a countrys total income. GNP refers to the market value of goods and services produced by the property and labor owned by the residents of an economy. This term was used by most governments before the 1990s国民生产总值(GNP)是最重要的宏观经济指标,它是指一个国家地区的国民经济在一定时期（一般1年）内以货币表现的全部最终产品（含货物和服务）价值的总和。GDP是与所谓国土原则联系在一起的。按照这一原则，凡是在本国领土上创造的收入，不管是不是本国国民所创造的，都被计入本国的GDP。特别是，外国公司在某一国资公司的利润都应计入该国的GDP。而该国企业在外国子公司的利润就不应被计入。The difference between GNP and GDP is that the former focuses on ownership of the factors of production while the latter concentrates on the place where production takes place.For example, the dividend returned by the subsidiary of Microsoft in China is included in the US GNP but not in its GDP. And the production of the same subsidiary is included in Chinas GDP but not in its GNP. The difference between GNP and GDP can be ignored since it is very small in most cases. People can use whichever term that is more easily available and they can compare a countrys GNPThe third paragraph tells us the significance of per capita income in assessing a market. The figure shows the average income level of an economy and is therefore important for marketing consumer durables.In assessing the potential of a country as a market, people often look at per capita income. Similar to the case of national income and national product, per capita income and per capita GDP do not have much difference. So lets use per capita GDP to illustrate an economys income level. It is calculated by dividing its total GDP by its population. Total GDP indicates the overall size of an economy, which is important in marketassessment for durable equipment or bulk goods such as grain, steel, or cement. Per capita GDP reveals the average income level of consumers, which is important when marketing consumer durables. For example, China has a large GDP of roughly USD1.4 trillion in 2003, being the seventh largest economy in the world. If adjusted by PPP, the figure would probably be as large as USD6.4 trillion, accounting for 12% of the worlds total and ranking the second only after the USASo China is not only a newly emerging producer but also an important newly emerging market. Though $1000 per capita income is believed by experts to be the level at which consumerism begins to emerge, the Chinese figure is still rather low, ranking only the 111th in the world. In contrast, Singapore has a GDP of roughly a bit over $100 billion, but a per capita income as high as $32,810. Obviously China and Singapore represent two different kinds of market.The fourth paragraph deals with the income distribution of an economy. Different industries may be interested in the respective sizes of different sections of people such as the rich and the middle income.TEXT: Business people are also concerned about the income distribution of a market i.e. the proportions of its rich, middle income and poor people. Producers of quality electrical appliances such as color TVs are interested in the size of a countrys middle class, while manufacturers of expensive cars such as Rolls-Royces may want to know the number of its millionaires.Paragraphs 5-7 set the respective standard for high-income, middle-income and low-income countries with enumeration of the specific countries under each group. Brief accounts are also made of their respective roles in trade and investment.Countries of the world are divided by the World Bank into three categories of high-income, middle-income and low-income economies. Those enjoying annual per capita income of $9386 and above are classified as high-income countries. This group comprises three types of countries. The first type includes most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The second type is rich oil producing countries of the Middle East such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The third type consists of small-industrialized countries or regions such as Israel, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. High-income countries often have good infrastructure, high purchasing power, advanced technology, efficient management, and favorable environment for trade and investment. They offer prime markets for expensive consumer goods and are both attractive sources and destinations of investment. Countries with annual per capita income below $9,386 but above $765 are regarded as middle-income countries. Included in this category are most East European countries and most members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, six OECD members that are not up to the level of high income countries, quite a number of Latin American countries and some comparatively developed countries in Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.Among the African countries, South Africa and oil-producing Libya, Nigeria and Algeria belong to this category. China with a per capita income of over $1100 is a middle-income country though it was a low income country just a few years ago. Lower income countries are those that have per capita incomes of only $765 or even less. Most African countries, some Asian countries and a few Latin American countries are included in this groupThese countries usually have poor infrastructure, low consumer demand and unfavorable business environment. But that does n