國(guó)際商務(wù)英語(yǔ)5844課文

1、LESSON 1 International BusinessTHE STRUCTURE OF THE ARTICLE:了解國(guó)際商務(wù)與 內(nèi)商務(wù)的區(qū)別，熟悉貿(mào)易、投資及其他 際商務(wù)活動(dòng)的含義、特點(diǎn)、運(yùn)作方式等。Major difference between international business and domestic businessA. differences in legal systemB. differences in currenciesC. differences in cultural backgroundD. differences in natural and ec

2、onomic conditionsMajor types of international business.A. tradea. commodity tradeb. service tradeB. investmenta. foreign direct investmentb. portfolio investmentC. other typesa. licensing and franchisingb. management contract and contract manufacturingc. turnkey project and BOTTEXT:International bus

3、iness 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 mor

4、e complicated than domestic business. The followings are some major differences between the two:1The 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.2Different counties usually use different c

5、urrencies 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.3Cultural differences including language, customs, traditions, religion, value, behavi

6、or etc. Often constitute challenges and even traps for people engaged in international business.4Countries 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 developm

7、ent 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 ofcommodity trade, i. e. exporting and imp

8、orting 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

9、more important. This type of trade is called invisible trade( 無(wú) 形 貿(mào) 易 ). 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 busin

10、ess is supplying capital by residents of one country to another, known as international investment. 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 inv

11、ested 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( 證 券 投 資 ) refers to purchases of foreign financial asset

12、s 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 p

13、eriod 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 mark

14、et. In licensing, a firm leases the right to use its intellectual property (知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán))to a firm in another country. Such intellectual property may be trademarks (商標(biāo)), brand names (品牌), patents (專利), copyrights (版權(quán)) or technology. Firms choose licensing because they do not have to make cash payments to st

15、art business, and can simply receive income in the form of royalty. Besides, 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 o

16、f the hostcountry. 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

17、, 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 suppo

18、rt 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 rest

19、aurant 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 percent

20、age of the relevant business volume. Sometimes bonuses based on profitability or sales growth are also specialized 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 st

21、rategicimportance 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

22、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

23、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 t

24、ake 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 fo

25、r build, O for operate and T for transfer. For a BOT project, a firm operates 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 pro

26、ject. Needless to say, the contractor has to bear the financial and other risks that may occur in the period of operation.2 income level and the world market掌握國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值，國(guó)民生產(chǎn)總值，人均收入等概念的含義。了解劃分高收入，中等收入和低收入國(guó)家的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)及收入水平與市場(chǎng)的關(guān)系。熟悉世界市場(chǎng)的情況。1Gross national product (GNP) and gross domestic product (GDP).2Per capit

27、a income and per capita GDP.3High income, middle income and low income countries.A. standards for classificationB. representative countries4Triad and Quad.A. United StatesB. Western EuropeC. JapanD. Canada5Other important markets for China.In assessing the potential of a market, people often look at

28、 its income level since it provides clues about the purchasing power of its residents. The concepts national income (國(guó)民收入) and national product (國(guó)民生產(chǎn)) have roughly the same value and can be used interchangeably if our interest is in their sum total(總值，總量) which is measured as the market value of the

29、 total output of goods and services of an economy in a given period, usually a year. The difference isonly in their emphasis. The former stresses the income generated by turning out the products while the latter, the value of the products themselves. GNP （Gross National Product） and GDP（Gross Domest

30、ic Product） are two important concepts used to indicate a countrys totalincome. GNP refers to the market value(市場(chǎng)價(jià)) 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. GDP measures the market value of

31、 all goods and services produced within the geographic area of an economy. It has been preferred by most countries since the 1990s.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

32、 place. For example, the dividend(紅利，股息) 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

33、most cases. People can use whichever term that is more easily available and they can compare a countrys GNP and another countrys GDP without worrying that the result would be terribly distorted. For instance, in 1996, the US GNP was 7 637. 7 billion US Dollars and its GDP was 7 636 billion US Dollar

34、s, a difference of only 0. 02%. And in 1999, Chinas GNP was 8 042. 28 billion yuan Renminbi and its GDP was 8 191. 09 billion yuan, with a difference of 1. 8%, still insignificant though larger than the US figure.要估計(jì)某一市場(chǎng)的潛力，人們往往要分析其收入水平，因?yàn)樗鼮榫用竦馁?gòu)買力提供了 依據(jù)。國(guó)民收入和國(guó)民產(chǎn)值的總量是按一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體在某一特定時(shí)期內(nèi)貨物和服務(wù)的總產(chǎn)出 來(lái)計(jì)算的，這個(gè)時(shí)期

35、通常為一年。如果我們關(guān)注的是這兩個(gè)概念的總量，那么它們是大致 相同的，可以交替使用。兩者的區(qū)別在于著重點(diǎn)不同，前者強(qiáng)調(diào)生產(chǎn)產(chǎn)品產(chǎn)生的收入，而 后者強(qiáng)調(diào)產(chǎn)品本身的價(jià)值。GNP（國(guó)民生產(chǎn)總值）和 GDP（國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值）是兩個(gè)重要的概念，可用于表明一國(guó)的總收入。GNP 指一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體憑借其居民擁有的資產(chǎn)和勞動(dòng)力所生產(chǎn)的貨物和服務(wù)的市場(chǎng)價(jià)值。20 世紀(jì) 90 年代以前大多數(shù)國(guó)家使用這個(gè)概念。GDP 計(jì)算的 是在一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體地理區(qū)域內(nèi)所生產(chǎn)的所有實(shí)物產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)的價(jià)值。自 20 世紀(jì) 90 年代開(kāi)始， 大多數(shù)國(guó)家喜歡采用這個(gè)概念。GNP 與 GDP 區(qū)別在于，前者強(qiáng)調(diào)的是生產(chǎn)要素的所有權(quán)，而后者著眼于進(jìn)行生產(chǎn)

36、的地方。舉個(gè)例子，微軟在中國(guó)的分公司返回的紅利算入美國(guó)的 GNP，而不算入其 GDP。同時(shí)，這家分公司的產(chǎn)品價(jià)值算入中國(guó)的 GDP 而不算入其 GNP。在多數(shù)情況下，GNP 值和GDP 值相差甚微，其差別幾乎可以忽略不計(jì)。人們因此可以用更容易獲得的那個(gè)指標(biāo)，可以比較一國(guó)的 GNP 值和另一國(guó)的 GDP 值，不必?fù)?dān)心結(jié)果會(huì)大相徑庭。比如，1996 年美國(guó)的 GNP 為 76 377 億美元，而其 GDP 為 76 360 億美元，兩者僅相差 0. 02。1999 年中國(guó)的 GNP 為 80 422. 8 億元人民幣，GDP 為 81 910. 9 億元人民幣，兩者相差 1. 8，盡管比美國(guó)的 G

37、NP 與 GDP 間差距大，但仍然差別有限。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 incom

38、e 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 market assessment for durable equipment or bulk goods such as grain, steel, or cement. Per capita GDP reveals the average income level of consumers, which

39、is important when marketing consumer durables. For example, China has a large GDP of roughly USD 1. 4 trillion in 2003, being the seventh largest economy in the world. If adjusted by PPP(purchasing power parity)(購(gòu)買力平價(jià)), the figure would probably be as large as USD 6. 4 trillion, accounting for 12 of

40、 the worlds total and ranking the second only after the USA. So China is not only a newly emerging producer but also an important newly emerging market. However its per capita GDP is still fairly low, just a bit over USD 1 100. Though $1 000 per capita income is believed by experts to be the level a

41、t 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 abit over $100 billion, but a per capita income as high as $ 32 810. Obviously China and Singapore represent two different kinds of market.Bu

42、siness people are also concerned about the income distribution(收入分布) 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 car

43、s such as Rolls-Royces may want to know the number of its millionaires.要評(píng)估一國(guó)的市場(chǎng)潛力，人們往往會(huì)分析其人均收入。像國(guó)民收入和國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)值一樣， 人均收入和人均 GDP 的值沒(méi)有多少差別。因此，讓我們使用人均 GDP 來(lái)表示一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體的收入水平。人均 GDP 值是將國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值除去總?cè)丝诘玫降?。?guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值表明了一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)體的經(jīng)濟(jì)總量，對(duì)于大米、鋼鐵、水泥等大宗貨物和耐用設(shè)備市場(chǎng)評(píng)估有重要意義； 人均 GDP 反映了一國(guó)消費(fèi)者的平均收入水平，在耐用消費(fèi)品的營(yíng)銷工作中是很重要的。例如，中國(guó) 2003 年的 GDP 達(dá)到 14

44、 000 億美元，成為世界第七大經(jīng)濟(jì)強(qiáng)國(guó)。如果按購(gòu)買力平價(jià)調(diào)整計(jì)算，這個(gè)數(shù)字可能高達(dá) 64 000 億美元，占了世界經(jīng)濟(jì)總量的 12，僅次于美國(guó)排名第二。因此中國(guó)不但是一個(gè)新興的生產(chǎn)國(guó)同時(shí)也是一個(gè)重要的新興市場(chǎng)。然而中國(guó)的人 均 GDP 仍然相當(dāng)?shù)?，只?1 100 美元多點(diǎn)。盡管專家們認(rèn)為人均收入達(dá)到 1 000 美元能夠引起較大消費(fèi)欲望，這個(gè)數(shù)目還是很低，只排在世界第 111 位。相反，新加坡的 GDP 總值只有 1 000 億美元多一點(diǎn)，但其人均收入?yún)s高達(dá) 32 810 美元。顯然，中國(guó)和新加坡代表了兩種 不同類型的市場(chǎng)。商界人士也關(guān)注一個(gè)市場(chǎng)的收入分布狀況，即富人、中等收入者和窮人的比

45、例。像彩電這種家用電器的制造商，會(huì)關(guān)注一個(gè)國(guó)家中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的人數(shù)；像勞斯萊斯這樣的豪華轎車生產(chǎn)商則想知道一國(guó)百萬(wàn)富翁的人數(shù)。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 $ 9 386 and above are classified as high-income countries. This gr

46、oup comprises three types of countries. The first type includes most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development （OECD）(經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織). The second type are rich oil producing countries of the Middle East such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The third type

47、consists of small-industrialized countries or regions such as Israel, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. High-income countries often have good infrastructure (基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施), high purchasing power, advanced technology, efficient management, and favorable environment for trade and investment. They offer prime m

48、arkets (主要的市場(chǎng)) 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

49、 Commonwealth of Independent States (獨(dú)立國(guó)家聯(lián)合體), six OECD (經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織) members that are not up to the level of high income countries （Czech, Greece, Hungary, Mexico, and Turkey）, quite a number of Latin American countries and some comparatively developed countries in Asia, such as Indonesia, Malaysia,

50、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 $1 100 is a middle-income country though it was a low income country just a few years ago.Lower income countries are t

51、hose 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 group. These countries usually have poor infrastructure, low consumer demand and unfavorable business environment. But that does not mean

52、 they should be neglected in international business activities, because they constitute markets for lower-priced staple goods , provide cheap labor and are often rich in resources. What is more important, market is something to be developed. Once tapped, the business potential of these countries wil

53、l one day become real business opportunities.世界各國(guó)被世界銀行分為三大類：高收入國(guó)家，中等收入國(guó)家和低收入國(guó)家。人均年收入達(dá)到 9386 美元或以上的國(guó)家是高收入國(guó)家。高收入國(guó)家又可分為三種類型：第一種是經(jīng)濟(jì)合作發(fā)展組織（OECD）的大多數(shù)成員國(guó)；第二種是科威特、沙特阿拉伯、阿聯(lián)酋等富裕的中東石油生產(chǎn)國(guó)；第三種是如以色列、新加坡、香港和臺(tái)灣這樣的工業(yè)發(fā)達(dá)的小國(guó)或地區(qū)。高收入國(guó)家通常基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施完善、購(gòu)買力強(qiáng)、技術(shù)先進(jìn)、管理有效，有利于貿(mào)易和投資。這些國(guó)家和地區(qū)是高檔消費(fèi)品的主要市場(chǎng)，在吸引投資和對(duì)外投資方面都處于有利地位。人均年收入在 9 386 美元

54、和 765 美元之間的國(guó)家被認(rèn)為是中等收入國(guó)家。其中包括東歐大多數(shù)國(guó)家，大多數(shù)獨(dú)聯(lián)體國(guó)家，OECD 其余未能劃入高收入國(guó)家的六個(gè)成員國(guó)（捷克、希臘、匈牙利、墨西哥、土耳其），相當(dāng)數(shù)量的拉美國(guó)家，還有印尼、馬來(lái)西亞、菲律賓和泰國(guó)這樣相對(duì)發(fā)達(dá)的亞洲國(guó)家。在非洲各國(guó)中，屬于這類國(guó)家的有南非以及利比亞、尼日 利亞、阿爾及利亞這些石油生產(chǎn)國(guó)。中國(guó)現(xiàn)在的人均年收入超過(guò) 1100 美元，屬于中等收入國(guó)家，盡管幾年前它還是個(gè)低收入國(guó)家。人均年收入只有或低于 765 美元的國(guó)家是低收入國(guó)家。多數(shù)非洲國(guó)家，一些亞洲國(guó)家和少數(shù)拉美國(guó)家都屬于這一領(lǐng)域。低收入國(guó)家通?；A(chǔ)設(shè)施差，消費(fèi)需求低，商務(wù)環(huán)境不理想。但是這并不意

55、味著我們?cè)趪?guó)際商務(wù)活動(dòng)中可以忽視這些國(guó)家，因?yàn)檫@些國(guó)家是價(jià)格低廉的大宗商品的主要市場(chǎng)，而且能提供廉價(jià)勞動(dòng)力，往往資源豐富。更重要的是，市場(chǎng)是需要開(kāi)發(fā)的，一旦得到開(kāi)發(fā)，這些國(guó)家的商業(yè)潛力有一天就會(huì)成為實(shí)際的商業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)。The term Triad refers to the three richest regions of the world the United States, the European Union and Japan that offer the most important business opportunities. Any international enterpris

56、e must bear Triad in mind if they want to be successful in the increasingly competitive world market.With a per capita income of about $ 30 000, the United States is the richest country in the western hemisphere. Though the per capita income of a few small countries like Switzerland is much higher t

57、han that of the United States, the overall size of the US economy of about $10 trillion GDP, roughly a quarter of the world total, coupled with its political stability puts the country on a unique position in the world. It accounts for about 15 of world visible and invisible trade. The US dollar is

58、the invoicing currency for about half of the internationaltransactions and is an important component of foreign currency reserves of the world. The United States has been regarded by many people as a safe haven who tend to keep their wealth in US dollar when they lose confidence in the value of their own currency. And for many years the country remained the largest recipient of foreign investment. Over 160 of the worlds 500 largest corporations have their headquarters in the United States including 24 of the top 100. The countrys large middle