The term fiat money is used to define as any money declared by a government to be legal tender with no commodity backing. Legal tender simply means that there is a law requiring everyone to accept the currency in commerce. Besides, fiat money was state-issued money which is neither fixed in value in terms of any objective standard, nor legally convertible to any other thing that was demanded by someone else. In other word, fiat money is money without intrinsic value. In ancient times when money was not invented trade as a whole was on barter system. “Barter” basically means to pay for something you want with products or services instead of paying for what you want with money. Under this system, exchange only can take place between two persons only if each possesses the goods which the other wants. As an example, imagine you grow tomatoes and your neighbor Continue reading
International Business Finance
Export Bills of Exchange
Export Bills of Exchange are the drafts or bills of exchange, drawn by the shipper of goods or the provider of services in one country, on people in another country who are buying the goods or using the services, that constitute the chief supply of international currency. A draft or a bill of exchange performs two or three functions. A draft payable at first sight is a demand for payment due and a receipt for payment made. A draft payable at some future period after sight becomes a demand for payment by the seller, a promise of payment by the buyer on the agreed date, and a receipt for payment after such payment has been made. The person who makes out the draft (i.e., the person who receives the money) is said to draw the draft and is called the drawer. The person to whom the draft is addressed and Continue reading
Emerging Markets for International Capital Investments
Of late emerging markets have become a buzzword among the international investors for reaping greatest potential rewards which would be impossible if they stayed put in their affluent hinterlands. The term emerging markets (EMs) is a collective reference to the stock markets of the developing nations. A question, which overpowers a discerning mind, is why the international investors are looking towards emerging markets for investing their funds instead of established markets like US? Three reasons can be given to answer this question. First, the average total return of emerging markets has outstripped those of developed markets. Investments total return index computed by the IFC (International Finance Corporation) which measures the total return for each country based on those stock available to foreign investors shows that return on investment in IFC composite of EMs is 61.64 per cent higher than the return on investment in US market over the years. The Continue reading
International Accounting Standard 37 (IAS37)
The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) issued IAS37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets in September 1998. It replaced parts of IAS10 Contingencies and became operative for annual financial statements covering periods beginning on or after 1 July 1999. Before the announcement of IAS37, different countries use various ways to verify their provisions, which bring the problem of inconsistency. Some enterprises confirm their provisions, depending on whether to undertake current obligation or not. While some other enterprises are according to managers’ willingness of proceeding future payments to confirm their preparations. Therefore, the results are: Different types of business enterprises have different classification of provisions, so it creates inconsistency. This jeopardizes comparability of different enterprise’s financial statements. It provides the opportunity for certain enterprises to manipulate their profits. For example, the cost should be recognized in the period but may be moved to other period to confirm; the cost should be Continue reading
Introduction to International Trade Finance
Financing international trade is a complex process, involving many variables, ranging from corporate policy and marketing strategy to exchange risk and general borrowing conditions. The reason behind the complexity of financing international trade is that trade involves two countries with different currencies and jurisdictions. In addition, payments must be made at a distance and across time, so the exporter, the importer, or both need credit during part or all of the period form the initial manufacture of goods by the exporting firm to the time of the final sale and collection by the importer. The main objective of a good corporate export financing policy should be financing the greatest possible amount of sales with the greatest possible management simplicity and with minimal risk. Following are among the important considerations in the choice of a strategy for trade financing: The nature of good in question. Capital goods usually require medium to Continue reading
Evaluation of Subsidiary Performance in Multinational Operations
A parent company may employ several criteria to evaluate the performance of its foreign subsidiaries. Sales growth, market share, stability in output, asset growth and returns on investment are some of these criteria. Out of these, Return On Investment (ROI) is the most widely-used criteria-because the interest of the parent company ultimately lies in the Return On its Investment. The ROI as calculated on the basis of reported profit repatriation may however not show the true return from the subsidiary. This is because it may be grossly-distorted, due to the following reasons. (i) The subsidiary’s profits are taxed in the host country and repatriation of profit may be subject to further tax. Therefore, the parent company tries to transfer the money from the subsidiary in various other ways such as high royalty, high interest on loan, high expert fees, etc. As a result the, profit repatriation becomes a grossly understated Continue reading