Resources

You have probably found that taking decisions is much easier when you have all the facts you need. Take the simple example of buying a birthday present for a relative or close friend and having to choose between the red one or the blue one.

There is much talk amongst trade economists of value chains, supply chains and market structure. Market structure refers to a market overall and you will hear terms such as monopoly, duopoly, oligopoly, imperfect competition, and oligopsony and monopsony.

Technology transfer and licensing are closely related but are subtly different. Licensing allows the licensee to make use of the licensor’s intellectual property. Often the licensee wants to license the use of a specific technology though they might also be able to license the rights to use a brand name or a trademark or even a piece of music.

This note outlines the questions to consider when appraising a business. You will find this helpful when you are looking at other businesses with view to investing in the business or buying it outright. You may find some of the questions appropriate to ask yourself if you are thinking of launching a new company in your target market.

When you make a capital investment, whether in equipment for your existing business or by investing in another business, you do so because you expect to generate income in the future. If this were not the case, you would not make the investment.

It is often helpful to split up funds within a business to show sources and applications. Sources show from where the money has come; applications show to where the money has gone.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an activity where an investor sets up or invests in an enterprise in a foreign country with the intention of acquiring a lasting interest and at least a degree of management control.

The documentation required when sending goods to customers in other countries can seem complicated to a new exporter.

Certificates of origin (CO) verify a product’s country of origin and state where the product was manufactured, produced or processed, though this can become more complicated when raw materials come from one country and a product is then manufactured in another.

By the time you have reached this factsheet you should have developed your export strategy and should have a plan of action.