国际商务英语(英文版)

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 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 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 country’s 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 difference
is only in their emphasis. The former stresses the income generated by turning out the products while the latter, the value of the product s themselves. Gross National Product, GNP, and Gross Domestic Product, GDP, are two important concepts used to indicate a country’s 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 China’s 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 country’s GNP The 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 let’s use per capita GDP to illustrate an economy’s 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 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 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 world’s 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. 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 country’s 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 group
These countries usually have poor infrastructure, low consumer demand and unfavorable business environment. But that does not mean 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 will one day become real business opportunities. Paragraphs 8 – 12 deal with Triad and its extension Quad. Those are the richest and most important markets in the world. The former refers to the United States, Western Europe and Japan, and the latter is an extension of Triad to include Canada. The economic and market conditions of those regions are specified in the 5 paragraphs, hopefully to give the learners an overall picture of these markets. TEXT:
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 enterprise 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 than that of the United States, the overall size of the U.S 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 U.S. dollar is the invoicing currency for about half of the international transactions 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 f oreign investment. Over 160 of the world’s 500largest corporations have their headquarters in the United States including 24 of the top 100. The country’s large middle class make it an attractive market for enterprises all around the globe.
The second component of Triad is Western Europe that mainly refers to the European Union. With an average per capita income of over ＄20,000, all the members before its eastward expansion are classified as high income countries.
Its total GDP of over 10 trillion US dollars is the largest, larger than that of the United States. Germany, France, Britain and Italy are the 4 richest, most populous and developed countries of EU. These countries are each an attractive market, and combined they constitute the largest rich market in the world. In the present intensely competing world, it is necessary and beneficial to diversify our major markets, and the importance of EU as one leg of Triad cannot be overstressed.
Japan is the third component of Triad and the second largest economy of the world. It is an important supplier of high-tech products and a major importer of raw materials. While exports have greatly spurred Japan’s development, trade only accounts for a relatively small proportion of its GDP. Japan remained a target of criticism for engaging in unfair trade practices. The large trade surplus has enabled it to invest heavily abroad and for years it has been the largest creditor country of the world.
With mutually complementary economy, Japan and China are major trade partners, and the two countries are close neighbours separated only by a strip of water.Sino-Japanese business relations are therefore of great importance to both countries.
Some people extend the scope of Triad to include Canada and name the broadened grouping Quad. With the world’s second largest territory, Canada is rich in natural resources,
and its export accounts for nearly 40% of its GDP. The percentage is much higher than those of other members of the Group of Seven and suffices to show the importance of trade to the country. Sharing a very long common border along which most of the Canadian people live, Canada and the United States, with their respective rich market, enjoy the largest single bilateral trade in the world.
Paragraph 13 briefs on other markets that China should pay particular attention to. And Paragraph 14 offers the policy for developing business opportunities.
TEXT:
So far as China is concerned, other markets we should pay particular attention to are those around us: the Four Tigers, the ASEAN countries, Russia, India, and a bit farther away Australia. These countries or regions either have rich consumers and offer good business opportunities or are developing fast with very promising market potential.
And their geographical proximity to China is a great advantage for us in developing business relations with them. Despite the above observations, it does not mean we can neglect other markets. Different markets offer different opportunities and it is not a good idea to tie one’s business to only a few markets. The best policy is to develop
business opportunities wherever advantageous while keeping in mind the key markets.
Unit 3 国际贸易
International trade can be defined as the exchange of goods and services produced in one country with those produced in another.In the complex economic world, no country can be completely self-sufficient. The distribution of natural resources is uneven. Some countries are abundant in resources, while elsewhere reserves are scarce or even nonexistent. And a country may be rich in some resources but poor in others. For instance, Britain has large reserves of coal but lacks some metal reserves. Kuwait has vast oil deposits but little farm produce. And Japan relies heavily on import for most of the primary commodities. That is the reason why international trade first began. With the development of manufacturing and technology, there arose another incentive for trade, i.e. international specialization----one country producing more of a commodity than it uses itself and selling the remainder to other countries. Such specialization constitutes an important basis for international trade.
Where there are no differences among countries in the basic capabilities at producing goods, other basis for trade among them may still exist. First, patterns of demand may differ among nations. For
example, most consumers in one country may consider dog meat a delicacy, while in another country the consumption of dog meat is abhorrent. In this case the second country may sell its dog meat to the first country. Trade will be based not on differences in the production capabilities of the two countries but on different consumption preferences. Second, trade may occur out of economies of scale, that is, the cost advantages of large-scale production.For example, Country A and Country B may have the same capability in producing cars and computers, but the cost for the production of both commodities will decrease if the goods are produced on a large scale. Both countries might find it advantageous if each were to specialize completely in the production of one commodity and import the other.
Third, trade takes place because of innovation or style. Even though Country A produces enough cars at reasonable costs to meet its own demand and even to export some, it may still import cars from other countries for innovation or variety of style.
In reality, however, complete specialization may never occur even when it is economically advantageous. For strategic or domestic reasons, a country may continue to produce goods for which it does not have an advantage. The benefits of specialization may also be affected by transport cost.
Goods and raw materials have to be transported around the world and the cost of the transport reduces the benefit of trade. The case will be more serious with transporting bulky or perishable goods. Protectionist measures which are often taken by governments are also barriers to trade, and typical examples are tariffs and quotas.
Tariff barriers are the most common form of trade restriction. A tariff is a tax levied on a commodity when it crosses the boundary of a customs area which usually coincides with the area of a country. A customs area extending beyond national boundaries to include two or more independent nations is called a customs union. Import duties are tariffs levied on goods entering an area while export duties are taxes levied on goods leaving an area.
The former type is more common than the latter as most nations want to expand export and increase their foreign exchange earnings. Import duties may be either specific,or advalorem or a combination of the two--- compound duties. The term drawback refers to duties paid on imported goods that are refunded if the goods are re-exported.
The term most- favored- nation (MFN) treatment refers to a tariff treatment under which a country is required to extend to all signatories any tariff concessions granted to any participating country.However, MFN treatment is not really special but is just normal trading status.
Quotas or quantitative restrictions are the most common form of
non-tariff barriers. A quota limits the imports or exports of a commodity during a given period of time.
The limits may be in quantity or value terms, and quotas may be on a country basis or global, without reference to countries. They may be imposed unilaterally and can also be negotiated on a so-called voluntary basis. Obviously, exporting countries do not readily agree to limit their sales. Thus, the ―voluntary‖ label generally means that the importing country has threatened to impose even worse restrictions if voluntary cooperation is not forthcoming.
In addition to visible trade, which involves the import and export of goods, there is also invisible trade, which involves the exchange of services between countries.
Transportation service across national boundaries is an important kind of invisible trade. International transportation involves different means of transport such as ocean ships, planes, trains, trucks and inland water vessels.
However, the most important of them is maritime ships. When an exporter arranges shipment, he generally books space in the cargo compartment of a ship, or charter a whole vessel. Some countries such as Greece and Norway have large maritime fleets and earn a lot by way of this invisible trade.
Insurance is another important kind of invisible trade.
In the course of transportation, a cargo is vulnerable to many risks such as collision, pilferage 偷窃, fire, storm, explosion, and even war.Goods being transported in international trade must be insured against loss or damage. Large insurance companies provide service for international trade an d earn fees for insuring other nation’s foreign trade.
Tourism is yet another important form of invisible trade. Many countries may have beautiful scenery, wonderful attractions, places of historical interest, or merely a mild and sunny climate. These countries attract large numbers of tourists, who spend money for traveling, hotel accommodations, meals, taxis, and so on. Some countries depend heavily on tourism for their foreign exchange earnings（外汇收入）, and many countries are making great efforts to develop their tourism. The fourth type of invisible trade meriting attention（值得注意）is called immigrant remittance（侨汇）.
This refers to the money sent back to home countries by people working in a foreign land. Import and export of labor service may be undertaken by individuals, or organized by companies or even by states. And this is becoming an important kind of invisible trade for some countries.
Invisible trade can be as important to some countries as visible trade is to others. In reality, the kind of trade nations engage in are varied and complex, often a mixture of visible and invisible trade.
Translate the following passage into Chinese:
MFN means most-favored –nation which is a tariff treatment. It is bilaterally given and provides for the lowest tariff in the tariff code. It is important to understand that the term most –favored –nation gives the impression that the tariffs involved are the lowest, it is in fact not the case. MFN is not really special but is just normal trading status. GSP ( generalized system of preferences) establishes even lower tariffs than MFN. As a matter of fact the United States has granted MFN status to all but a few countries. MFN only gives a country the lowest tariffs in the tariffs schedule, but it is still possible to have lower tariffs. Nevertheless, it is important to have MFN since the difference between MFN tariff and the general tariff is very big. For instance one of the largest Chinese export items to the United States is toys. And the tariff on a toy doll is only 6% if a country has MFN, whereas the tariff is as high as 70%, more than ten times greater without MFN. It is quite obvious that there would be a sharp drop in Chinese exports to the United States should China lose its MFN status, and it would have a serious impact on the Chinese economy.。