Financial leasing, also known as financial leasing, first originated in the United States after World War II. In May 1952, H. Syonfield opened the world's first enterprise using financial leasing for equipment leasing business, that is, the United States Leasing Corporation (later renamed the United States International Leasing Corporation). Since then this type of business in countries around the world flourished, and in the early 1980s introduced into China. The specific way of its operation is that the lessor, according to the lessee's requirements, contributes to the purchase of the lessee's choice of machinery and equipment, transportation and communication tools and other equipment, and at the same time with the lessee to enter into a lease contract, the equipment purchased will be leased to the lessee to use the lease expires according to the provisions of the contract to dispose of the equipment of the transaction behavior. IAS 17 - Accounting for Leases, issued by the International Accounting Standards Board in September 1982, defines a finance lease as follows: "A finance lease is a lease in which the lessor in substance transfers to the lessee all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset. " Most of the existing textbooks on leasing in China simply describe it as a new type of transaction with the dual functions of financing and financing from this basic concept. In fact, financial leasing is not only limited to provide the lessee with the above two functions. In the author's view, financial leasing also has the functions of promotion and service, and in today's increasingly prosperous economic globalization and integration, these two functions of financial leasing have gradually become the most essential functions of financial leasing differentiating itself from other financial instruments. Therefore, the author intends to analyze the promotional and service functions of financial leasing which have not been paid attention to by the government and the industry, hoping to change the tendency of over-emphasizing and relying on the financial functions of financial leasing in China's existing leasing industry.
First, financial leasing of financing, financing function
From the perspective of the transaction, financial leasing refers to the lessor of the lessee selected leasing object, the purchase for the purpose of financing, and then to collect rent as a condition of the leasing object in the medium and long term leased to the use of the lessee. From this definition, financing and financing is the basic function of financial leasing, and is also one of the important features that distinguish it from traditional leasing and other financing methods. In the traditional leasing, the lessee pays the rent and does not bear the cost of the leased goods, the lessor's leasing behavior is usually not to recover the cost of leased goods and profits, but leasing their own control of the equipment, etc., so the lessee does not have the role of financing. And financial leasing is a clear requirement of the lessee to pay the rent is not only to amortize all or most of the cost of the leased equipment, should also include the lessor's financing costs and operating profits, the lessor's income is not only the cost of transferring the right to use the leased equipment. Should also include the recovery of investment costs. This is determined by the lessee's actual operational needs: the lessee is in urgent need of specific equipment, but also the lack of funds, if you consider applying for loans from banks or other financial institutions. Or through the issuance of shares, bonds and other ways to raise funds, need to accept a variety of restrictions and related conditions of the strict review, especially for some newly established companies or not in the bank to establish credit for small and medium-sized enterprises, the operation of this financing process is quite cumbersome. However, if the lessee through the leasing company (lessor) to seek for specific equipment to provide medium-term capital financing is very different, because the use of financial leasing not only solves the problem of the right to use the production equipment and the shortage of funds, but also allows the lessee to the right to use the funds and goods and the right to use. Visible, financial leasing provides this kind of financing and financing function has exceeded the traditional financing, the lessee is not to simply get funds for the sole purpose, the lessee in the financing at the same time its specific intention of financing is also very obvious. Financing is only a means, the financing derived from the financing is the fundamental purpose, the two are interdependent and inseparable.
From the above analysis, we can conclude that financial leasing is a form of credit that combines financing and financing on the basis of the separation of ownership and right of use. Because this form of credit financing because of the financing without additional security and collateral, and the lessee's history of creditworthiness and threshold requirements are not high. Therefore, it is favored by the majority of financiers as soon as it appears. And with the rapid development of modern science and technology, capital equipment renewal cycle is greatly shortened, financial leasing has this function in accelerating depreciation, promote enterprise technology transformation, especially for the need to introduce but not easy to obtain from abroad to defer payment of the convenience of small and medium-sized single equipment enterprise is more popular, and thus become the introduction of foreign capital in various countries, stable, can not be ignored as one of the channels. In China, for example, the introduction of foreign capital through leasing has accounted for 8% of the total amount of foreign capital utilized. 20 years, China's financial leasing business throughout the country, including textiles. Light industry, energy, communications, transportation, machinery, electronics and chemical industries, thousands of enterprises in more than 6,000 technological transformation projects. A large number of enterprises such as Anshan Iron and Steel Works, Ginor Electrical Appliances, Little Swan Company, etc. are taking off with the help of international financial leasing. Especially China's civil aviation industry is the biggest beneficiary of financial leasing, according to statistics, as of the end of 2003, China's civil aviation through financial leasing the introduction of Boeing 747-400, 777, and 767 and other jet airliners 415, the use of foreign capital amounted to a total of 24.6 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 65.3% of China's total civil aviation capacity, so that China's air transport capacity to be rapidly improved. Upgrading.
Two, financial leasing promotion, service function
Currently, the world's most products market is developing to the buyer's market, the market for capital goods is no exception, therefore, the implementation of customer-oriented marketing strategy has become a key issue for the survival of enterprises. From the 4P strategy of product marketing. It is to cooperate with each other through the 4P's, namely. For customers, the product (Product) must be practical and advanced, epitaxial products should have uniqueness and relevance; price (Price) should be similar products as a reference, fully reflect the value of additional services, rather than simply go by the cost of pricing; the distribution system (PIace) can be based on the characteristics of the product, the choice of exclusive distribution or selective distribution; promotion (Promotion) should use the 4P strategy, namely. Promotion) should use advertising, financial support means and discount sales and other methods, so that customers get the benefits, and ultimately achieve the goal of satisfaction. And financial leasing precisely with the capital goods of the above 4P strategy has a strong internal correlation: first of all, the two transaction object is the same, are capital goods; Secondly, because they are all to the user to use the capital goods for the transaction objectives, so that the lessor and its leasing methods can become a component of the capital goods distribution system; Again, from the financial leasing of financing and financing function and the lease period lessor Lease investment recovery mode of full liquidity and non-full liquidity, the end of the lease period of the leased object ownership disposal mode of flexibility and diversity and other specific features, make the use of financial leasing for capital goods to provide financial support and promote the sale of capital goods has a unique advantage.
Since the end of the twentieth century, electronic communications. Bio-information technology as the representative of the "third wave of the revolution" makes the international division of labor to the depth of the direction of development, and constantly emerging from the high efficiency, advanced technology. A variety of specialized equipment for the international market, financial leasing of the above promotional and service functions are also increasingly prominent. Many developed countries equipment manufacturers and capital goods manufacturers have through the leasing company or the formation of their own leasing company to the developing countries to promote their own industrial products,: so as to open up a large number of overseas markets. For example, the general electric appliance finance company (GEcapital), IBM company, AT&T capital company, lank xerox international leasing company and Bell Pacific international leasing company are attached to the world famous big manufacturers of leasing company. The use of financial leasing foreign promotion of national products is quite respected by many countries, because this way has other export methods are difficult to compare the advantages.
First, the leasing of exports is different from ordinary goods export trade, can effectively avoid the importing country's various tariffs and trade protectionist measures. As mentioned earlier, financial leasing, no matter how long the lease period, the ownership of the leased equipment always belongs to the lessor. Therefore, as long as the lessor and the lessee in the importing country in the foreign financial leasing contract signed by the lessee does not change the ownership of the leased equipment, you can achieve not only the equipment produced by the enterprise will be delivered to the importing country to expand market share, but also to avoid the tariffs of the importing country and a variety of non-tariff barriers to the limitations.
Second, the use of leasing exports can effectively enjoy the preferential policies of exporting countries and does not violate the WTO rules. How to promote the export of domestic machinery and equipment has been the focus of attention of many countries. If the use of traditional government subsidies to expand exports, although the promotional effect is good, but it violates the relevant provisions of the WTO rules, easy to be the importing country and other countries to prosecute. However, if the government of the exporting country will be similar to low-interest loans and subsidies through the leasing company to carry out the preferential policies in the export of machinery and equipment leasing, can effectively resolve the above contradictions, thereby reducing the leasing costs, effectively improve the leasing company operating the export of machinery and equipment leasing enthusiasm, enhance the competitiveness of the leasing company in the international market, and ultimately to achieve the expansion of the country's machinery and equipment exports.
Third, the use of leasing exports, unlike the export credit to accept a variety of international practices, especially the world's Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of the export credit "gentleman's agreement" constraints, and thus the exporting country has greater autonomy, more conducive to product competition.
Financial leasing promotion and service function is often like a shadow, because in general; the exporting country through a highly specialized leasing company to promote the export of leased goods mostly with a high degree of technical expertise, need professional maintenance management, generality of the strong and rapid technological updating of the equipment, the lessor not only through the promotion of the lessee to provide the convenience of financing, but also to provide a full range of services. Take computer leasing, hardware, software. Installation, maintenance and training services are included in the process of leasing transactions. Again, when the manufacturer of medical equipment utilizes leasing to market medical equipment, it generally must also provide regular maintenance of the equipment and the corresponding one-time consumable materials, and so on. However, in the author's opinion, the service function of financial leasing is not only simply reflected in the promotional activities, but more importantly, it can be used for the implementation of macro-control by the state and the government. By utilizing the service function of financial leasing, it is not only conducive to improving the effect of macro-investment, better promoting the adjustment of national industrial policy and the development of basic industries, but also creating a large number of employment opportunities for the society. For example, many countries through the leasing company to provide funds, taxes or credit insurance and other aspects of the preferential leasing company's leasing investment and the government's macroeconomic objectives organically combined together, so as to achieve through a small amount of government expenditure, driven by social and legal investment in accordance with the government's intention to arrange the direction of the investment to improve the effect of macro-investment to ultimately achieve the purpose of the government's macroeconomic objectives of the purpose of the Samurai Leasing (Warrior Lease) in Japan, which has the advantage of improving the effect of macro-investment. (Warrior Lease) and South Korea's system lease (System Lease) and so on. And the financial leasing in promoting the country's capital equipment to open up the international market, expanding domestic investment at the same time to create employment opportunities to serve the function of the community, the British London Financial Group Chairman David J. Bowater pointed out: "the government through leasing to expand employment is not a new strategy. A good example: the British government has been successful in helping manufacturers of domestically produced capital equipment maintain or improve their competitive position in the international marketplace. Recognizing that pre-financed equipment is more attractive to overseas buyers than equipment marketed solely on the basis of quality, one of the reasons for supporting these programs is that these governments understand that if they help their own exporters, it will help to maintain or increase new domestic employment. Each particular piece of equipment offered under a financial lease is an investment for the leasing company, many of which have specific locations, and wherever they are located, they need to be staffed, which undoubtedly solves the employment problem for the government. In the United Kingdom, for example, from 1993 to 1996, financial leasing created 285,000 new jobs in the United Kingdom.
Three, China's financial leasing industry development problems
20 years, although the financial leasing industry in the introduction of foreign capital, the introduction of foreign advanced technology and equipment, to explore the new channels of enterprise financing for our country's economic construction to make a lot of useful attempts and contributions, but we should be more conscious of its development in our country to face the difficulties and problems. According to the statistics of World Leasing Yearbook 2004, the leasing amount in China only accounts for 4% of the domestic capital market share, which is lower than that of many developing countries, for example, in the same year, 9% in Hungary, 15% in Chile, and the average of 8.2% in the Asian region. In terms of market penetration of financial leasing, the United States is 30%. Germany is 18%, Japan is 8%, although there is no clear data in China, but according to industry estimates only 1% -2% or so, and more than 20 years of financial leasing total less than 200 billion U.S. dollars, only equivalent to the U.S. in 2002, a year of leasing. For this reason, Germany's Rexden Bank, Mr. Gesellschaft had issued a financial leasing in China came too early sigh. What is the reason for the current slow development of China's financial leasing industry? The author believes that the most fundamental reason is: China's financial leasing from the birth of its positioning there is a big deviation: that is, excessive attention and emphasis on financial leasing of financing and financing function, while ignoring or even denying the financial leasing of the promotional and service functions, the result is that most of China's leasing enterprises to the financial shareholders as the background, become a subsidiary of the bank. The funds that leasing companies get from banks are quite limited, and the profits of the leasing industry are used as a part of the profits of banks, so leasing companies lack due accumulation of funds, while industrial manufacturing and product exporting enterprises which are suitable for the characteristics of leasing at the early stage of development fail to create leasing companies directly for various reasons, so that the promotional function which should enjoy comparative advantages in the process of leasing development fails to be brought into full play, not to mention the use of the Not to mention utilizing the service functions of financial leasing to promote investment and product export, as well as capital operation. For this reason, the government needs to implement targeted preferential measures, so that the service function of financial leasing can be used for national macro-control, that is to say, for a variety of specific means of financing, to give different preferential policies, in order to stimulate the promotion and application of financial leasing in the urgently needed to support the industry. However, at the beginning of the development of financial leasing, our government only regards it as a means to introduce foreign capital under the reform and opening up, and lacks clear direction guidance and specific policy support for its promotion and service function. Therefore, the author believes that compared with other constraints on the development of China's leasing industry, such as unsound leasing laws and lack of leasing talents, China's financial leasing industry is not allowed to locate itself and the government and the industry on the development of leasing industry, that is, too much reliance on the financial leasing of financing, financing function failed to fully develop its hidden promotional and service functions, which is the most fundamental reason for the poor operation of the leasing industry in general in China. This is the most fundamental reason for the poor operation of the leasing industry in China. Therefore. To lift the bottleneck restricting the development of China's leasing industry. It is to tap the promotional and service functions of financial leasing as soon as possible on the basis of the original traditional business of financing and financing, to further expand the business scope of the leasing industry, and to find new economic growth points. In this regard, our government and the leasing industry should pay attention to and reflect on both sides.
Four, revitalize the development of China's financial leasing industry countermeasures
Currently, China's entire financial leasing industry, the total amount of financing is small, the business is narrow, the market penetration rate is low, and the operation is stagnant or even retrogression. This situation does not only exist in our country, in other countries, especially in the western developed countries, the financial leasing industry from the simple financing and financing period of transition to the innovative and operational leasing stage process is also common. Therefore, we do not have to be too "pessimistic". The function of financing and financing is the basis for the existence and development of the financial leasing industry, which runs through all stages of the development of the financial leasing industry. Become the initial driving force to promote the early development of the financial leasing industry, but some scholars simply based on this conclusion that the reason why the financial leasing can be rapidly developed globally, the fundamental reason is that the financial leasing can be both financing and financing the dual role of the dual role. The author does not agree with this point of view, because in practice, with the dual function of financing and financing is not only financial leasing this way, there are many financing methods such as equipment supplier retains ownership of installment payments and buyer's credit, seller's credit and other equipment as a guarantee of a variety of bank credit are also both financing and financing the dual role of goods. Therefore. To explain the brilliant achievements of today's world financial leasing industry. It is necessary to redefine the financial leasing industry scientifically, and mention the function of financing and financing alone, leaving aside the function of promotion and service is incomplete and not objective. In fact: promotion. The service function is the result of the derivation and innovation of the function of financing and material financing, and it is the result of the increasingly fierce competition in the market under the background of economic globalization and integration. The increasingly fierce market competition in the context of integration of the financial leasing industry is an inevitable challenge and requirements, but also the objective response of the financial leasing industry to this challenge and requirements.
In summary, the author believes that the revitalization of China's leasing industry should focus on the concept of change, re-understanding and positioning of the function of financial leasing. That is, on the basis of affirming the original function of financing and financing, the author is committed to tapping and playing the function of promotion and service. To this end, the government and enterprises should *** with the strategy should be shaped salty synergy. As far as the government is concerned. Should strengthen the policy orientation, based on tax, foreign exchange and other preferential policies to guide the direction of financial leasing, financial leasing business to focus on economic development to support the project, rather than the introduction of luxury goods and national economic development does not need the industry equipment, so as to make it serve the goal of macro-control. As far as enterprises are concerned, especially some electromechanical products in China, such as textile machinery, hydropower, thermal power generating sets, machine tools and other production enterprises, the performance and price of their corresponding products in the international market, especially in some developing countries have a certain competitive advantage, but the export of the products are also faced with the after-sales service to keep up with the country can not be exported to the country's export credit and other difficulties. Therefore, the relevant manufacturing enterprises should learn from the practice of large Western companies such as General Electric, International Business Machines Corporation, set up a leasing department within the enterprise, or set up a leasing company attached to the enterprise, make full use of the promotional role of leasing to promote products directly to overseas, the manufacturer and the user organically linked together, in order to achieve the purpose of seizing and maintaining international market share. Of course, in addition to this manufacturer category of leasing companies, other types of professional leasing companies in the continued optimization and integration of the original leasing business at the same time, when the time is ripe to boldly go out and expand the leasing business: not only to carry out the international export leasing business, but also to actively carry out offshore leasing business. In short, only the government and enterprises to cooperate, in the melt and financing based on the conscious play of financial leasing promotion and service functions, in order to fundamentally change China's melt and leasing industry currently exists in a variety of dilemmas, so that it regained vitality.
V. Concluding Remarks
It should be seen that the current financial leasing industry in China, although difficult, but also lurks a huge development potential. This is not only because its penetration rate in China, the world's largest leasing market is still very low, more importantly, its potential promotional and service functions have not been fully developed. Happily, after summarizing the experience and lessons learned over the past 20 years, the industry and academia have gained a more profound understanding of the theory and practice of financial leasing than before: that is, in today's booming economic globalization and integration, we should actively develop and utilize the promotional and service functions of financial leasing and give full play to its advantages, so as to make it become a new point of economic growth that drives the development of leasing industry. As the famous international leasing expert Aman Wave predicted in the face of the development of the world leasing industry in the new century, "leasing will continue to equip the world". I also firmly believe that as long as China's government and enterprises in the original financing and financing on the basis of the importance of financial leasing promotional, service functions, the first large-scale manufacturing enterprises, product export enterprises, as well as international background rhyming financial institutions, multinational corporations as the main emerging leasing enterprises as a pilot, and then promote the industry as a whole, it is inevitable that China's financial leasing of this sunrise industry to inject new blood and vitality, make it vibrant, and then the new leasing industry, the new leasing industry, the new leasing industry, the new leasing industry, the new leasing industry. Vitality, make it full of vigor! Therefore. We also have reason to predict: in the twentieth century, leasing will continue to equip China.