Free Essay

Discuss the Benefits and Drawbacks to Both Parts of China of the Close Relationship Between Hong Kong and Mainland China

In:

Submitted By sorasaki1991
Words 1656
Pages 7
Discuss the benefits and drawbacks to both parts of China of the close relationship between Hong Kong and mainland china

Hong Kong has enjoyed the benefits of being a capitalist economy and independent from mainland China for over 150 years under British colony without much relationship with China. Even though Hong Kong is now part of China with a strong tie, the Chinese central government valued having a successful capitalist economy in the greater China, consequently they have agreed to preserve the capitalist economy in the Sino-British agreement 1984. In this agreement, China has agreed on preserving the capitalist economy for 50 years after the return of Hong Kong on the 1st July 1997. Hong Kong is now one of the two Special Administrative Regions (SAR) in China having an independent economy with ties to mainland China. This decision had a positive influence on both the Chinese and Hong Kong economy and contributed towards the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and the expansion of Hong Kong as a financial centre in the recent years because now Chinese firms are able to easily reach the international market from Hong Kong. On the other hand, it still has drawbacks and potential threats from China having strong relationship, a free-trade agreement with a capitalist economy such as; large firms with large sums of liquidity and stability moving out of mainland China to preserve its wealth. This paper will discuss the benefit and drawbacks to both parts from an economics perspective for Hong Kong and China having a close relationship.
First of all, China has benefited from making Hong Kong a Special Administrative Region, keeping its independence from mainland China but keeping a strong bond because of numerous reasons. By having a capitalist economy in greater China with strong relationship and free-trade agreement, mainland China has received more FDI. This is due to many firms wanting to expand their market into the large market of China now has the option of setting-up a subsidiary in Hong Kong first and start operation from there without large restrictions which reduces the risks faced by firms since. Hong Kong is a capitalist economy which have simple taxation system, no tariffs imposed and relatively free from corruption. In addition, because Hong Kong is Asia’s financial centre it made transferring money out of China to their mother companies easier and has minimized the loss in transaction for large multinational firms.
“We have seen over the years that those who chose Hong Kong to be the springboard to China have a much higher rate of success.” says Philip Kung, head of the business and professional service team at Invest Hong Kong. (pg.19,ref. 2)
Secondly, China’s rapid growth was achieved and sustained because they export competitive goods to the international market and China could not have done it without Hong Kong because of the restrictions imposed by the central government and moreover, China is still under development. Thus Hong Kong is their export drive for many reasons which can be summarized into three main functions; Hong Kong as a consumer, middlemen and facilitator of Chinese goods. As “middlemen”,
Hong Kong has two methods. First method is re-exporting the goods (entrepot trade). This means Hong Kong firms will buy goods from outside Hong Kong for the purpose of re-exporting it again onto the international market. The goods will need to clear customs twice when they are imported into Hong Kong and exported out of Hong Kong and the goods are recorded as trade in and out from
Hong Kong. Second method is Hong Kong’s involvement in off-shore trade for Chinese goods this method was only expanded in the early 1990’s.As a facilitator Hong Kong provides a contact point for Chinese trade, financing the modernization of China, technology transfer and the training grounds. This is a great advantage to an economy which is developing rapidly because having a facilitator that has prior experience and familiar with both the international market and the businesses in mainland China means they can fill in the shortage of capital investment and give advice.
Below is the data that shows the significance of Hong Kong in Chinese trade;
Mainland’s trade handled by Hong Kong (US$m) | As HK’s re-export | As HK’s off-shore trade | Total | 1991 | 51.952 (38.3) | 12,122 (8.9) | 64,074 (47.2) | 1994 | 94,819 (40.1) | 35,611 (15.0) | 130,430 (55.1) | 1997 | 126,758 (39.0) | 67,006 (20.6) | 193,764 (59.6) | 2000 | 140,632 (29.7) | 111,422 (23.5) | 252,054 (53.1) | 2001 | 139,318 (27.3) | 128,433 (25.2) | 267,751 (52.5) | 2002 | 155,837 (25.1) | 154,980 (25.0) | 310,817(50.1) | 2003 | 185,149 (21.8) | 162.941 (19.1) | 348.090 (40.9) | 2004 | 220,177 (19.1) | | |
Table A.2, pg.20, ref 4
Lastly, Hong Kong as a service hub for international firms looking for opportunities in mainland China. Hong Kong is known for having a large service sector. Apart from trade, transport and finance they have a large number of qualified professional service provider such as; accountants, lawyers and bankers who are familiar with the business environment of mainland China and able to give advice. While some multinational company has set up their headquarters in Shanghai, the main financial centre in mainland China or other cities, because of the service Hong Kong can provide that the mainland cities can not, as China grows, the regional headquarters in Hong Kong increases. To support this argument there is evidence that “number of regional headquarters in Hong Kong has increased from 3,001 in mid 2,000 to 3,609 in mid 2004.” (ref4) Also as the number of the regional headquarters grew, the number of people engaged has grown substantially expanding Hong Kong’s economy. Although Shanghai is rapidly becoming a rival to Hong Kong but because to develop a service sector is very time consuming, capital intensive and the Chinese currency RMB being a fixed exchange rate making it harder to buy hard currency’s, Shanghai cannot compete with Hong Kong. Also to develop an internationally recognized financial centre, it must be clean, transparent and have regulated environment, thus Shanghai is still far from over taking Hong Kong.
On the other hand, even though, there are many advantages in mainland China having a close relationship with Hong Kong as stated above, there are draw backs from it as well. The most concerning one is, there are many firms and individuals in mainland China which are wealthy and stable but those firms will want to set-up an office in Hong Kong or even move out of mainland China and move its headquarters to Hong Kong. The reasons are very simple, there are fewer restrictions and firms can secure their wealth in Hong Kong when in China it is not always plausible. Also because of the central government restrictions and having a highly successful financial centre in reach, mainland China maybe slow at forming their own financial centre due to the lack of motives and regulations they need to over come. In addition, Hong Kong may become over-dependent on the Chinese economy and get impacted severely when the Chinese economy experiences a down-turn. Besides, having a close relationship with mainland China means it is subjected to some degree of control from the Chinese central government. Therefore, their economy might still be a capitalist economy but politically they do not have full independence from mainland China which may affect the society, development and the position as an Asian financial centre in the long-run.
In conclusion, there are more benefits from having a close relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong economically for both sides because they have a positive influence on each others even though in this paper we have focused more on the gain on China due to the word limit. For the Hong Kong economy, there are more FDI made due to companies wanting to expand their market into mainland China. FDI in Hong Kong has increased as FDI in China increased, quantity and value of exports have risen substantially and there are wealth flowing in from mainland China because Hong Kong is the regional financial centre. As for mainland China, by having Hong Kong as a free market economy, it has opened their market to the international market indirectly enjoying the benefits from FDI, trading, access to hard currency at market price and by having a fully developed internationally recognized financial centre it will get the support it needs to develop their own financial centre (Shanghai) and sustain their double digit growth from Hong Kong. On the other hand, for Hong Kong by having political influence from the central government of mainland China, they have experienced some restrictions politically than when they were fully independent from mainland China under the British colony. They now face a difficulty of passing laws unique to Hong Kong. Also for the China, they may experience out-flows of wealth to Hong Kong because for wealthy firms or individuals, capitalist economy is more attractive.

Bibliography
1.http://app1.hkicpa.org.hk/APLUS/0807/HKwindow.pdf
(Hong Kong’s role in China, July 2008, accessed in March 2011)

2.http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2158873.pdf?acceptTC=true
(Role of Hong Kong in China's Export Drive, Yun-wing Sung, The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, No. 15 (Jan., 1986), pp. 83-101Published by: Contemporary China Center, Australian National University Stable, accessed in March 2011 )

3.http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/12/1200050.pdf
(PATTERNS OF TRADE BETWEEN MAINLAND CHINA AND HONG KONG, Patrick Yeung, accessed in March 2011)

4.http://www.apeaweb.org/confer/hito05/papers/sung_y.pdf
(The Evolving Role of Hong Kong as China’s Middleman, Yun-Wing Sung, University of Hong Kong, accessed in March 2011)

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Overseas Listing and State-Owned-Enterprise Governance in China

...Yinzhi Miao Oversea Listing and State-Owned-Enterprise Governance in China: the Role of the State LL.M. Long Paper Harvard Law School Supervised by Prof. Reinier Kraakman and Mark Roe April 2012 Oversea Listing and State-Owned-Enterprise Governance in China: the Role of the State Yinzhi Miao Abstract: There are both considerate horizontal and vertical governance problems in the Chinese state-owned-enterprises (SOEs). Due to their privileged positions in the political economy, traditional institutions of corporate governance are far from perfect. Thus the value of oversea listing as a governance mechanism is highlighted, and that could be better revealed by a deeper analysis of the benefit-and-cost balance by the government which controls the SOEs. However, effective as it is, oversea listing could not be a marvelous antidote to all governance ills. Further, as the two major governance disasters of oversea listed SOEs shows, if the government lacks a proper self-positioning, nontrivial negative implications will be brought to SOEs governance via oversea listing. The ultimate function of corporate governance in SOEs thus relies heavily on public governance. Key words: state-owned-enterprises, oversea listing, corporate China governance, 2 Table of contents I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................4 II. The Governance problems of Chinese SOEs and the limitations of...

Words: 30398 - Pages: 122

Premium Essay

Bank

...Bangkok • Bogotá • Buenos Aires • Calcutta • Cape Town • Chennai • Dar es Salaam • Delhi • Florence • Hong Kong • Istanbul • Karachi • Kuala Lumpur • Madrid • Melbourne • Mexico City • Mumbai • Nairobi • Paris • São Paulo • Singapore • Taipei • Tokyo • Toronto • Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin • Ibadan © 2001 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, USA Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Cover design and interior design by Naylor Design, Washington, D.C. Manufactured in the United States of America First printing June 2001 1 2 3 4 04 03 02 01 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this study are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or...

Words: 190305 - Pages: 762

Free Essay

Men in Double Marginality--Chinese Diaspora “at Home”

...adaptation of Mainlander Taiwanese in China. They moved from China to Taiwan in 1949 and back “home” with their descendents in 1990s. By examine the life of seventeen respondents in Dongguan/Shanghai in 2004-2005, we argue that they were in sense of double marginality despite the diversity of the sample. Whilst foreigners regarded China as a new territory to explore more economic benefits, these returnees were more likely to regarded China as a place with sense of belonging, not sense of colonising. However, they found that the real China was different from what they expected before return. They felt being excluded from Taiwan, but they also felt unwilling to participate in China due to this home disillusion. Further discussion on the adaptation of other type Taiwanese in China will be displayed in separated papers. Keyword: return migration, Taiwan, China! 1. Introduction Whilst most migration research focuses on why people move from poorer countries to richer countries and how they overcome the widely cultural gap in migration, there is little research stressing on migration either on the opposite direction or between countries with cultural proximity. The phenomenon of Taiwanese people in China1 provides us a good chance to fill in this gap. It is Ping Lin is Assistant Professor of Political Science at National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. Email address: polpl@ccu.edu.tw 1 The official title of Taiwan today is the Republic of China), which was established in 1911 in Nanjing...

Words: 9472 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

The Relationship Between the English Language Exposures and Common Grammatical Errors in Writing Skills

...texts already available about the teaching and learning of English, the history and used ‘scenario planning’ as a strategy for coping with unpredictable futures. Section three outlines significant global trends which will shape the social and economic world in the 21st century. Section four discusses the impacts these trends are The Future of English? takes stock of the development of English and the diversity of forms of English worldwide. It is present, apparently unassailable, position of English in the world and asks whether we intended to stimulate constructive debate about the future status of English which can expect its status to remain unchanged during the coming decades of can inform policy developments both in the...

Words: 62119 - Pages: 249

Premium Essay

Fdi in Emerging Market

...FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN EMERGING MARKET COUNTRIES Report of the Working Group of the Capital Markets Consultative Group September 2003 This report reflects the views of private sector participants in a working group examining the determinants, trends and prospects of foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging market countries. The views expressed should not be attributed to the staff and management of HSBC, members of the CMCG, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. -2- Contents Page Main Findings ..........................................................................................................................3 I. II. III. Introduction....................................................................................................................10 Overview of FDI in EMCs.............................................................................................14 Motivation, Location, and Decision-Making.................................................................15 A. Motivation ...............................................................................................................15 B. Locational Determinants of FDI..............................................................................16 C. Decision-Making .....................................................................................................19 Financing, Global Conditions, and Managing FDI Risks................................................

Words: 20451 - Pages: 82

Premium Essay

Essays on Mba

...------------------------------------------------- like you:…………………………………………. Date:……………………… | 1. Walmart’s focus on supply chain management is responsible for its leadership in the retail industry. Discuss the distribution and logistics practices adopted by Walmart. How far has Walmart’s supply chain contributed to its competitive advantage? Explain. The retail biggest giant, retail supermarket chain “Walmart” serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 10,130 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of $443 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. And the organization is one of the fortune 500 companies. Walmart Stores, Inc., is the world’s largest public corporation by revenue and the largest private employer in the world (about 2.1 million employees in 2008). In 2008, the company operated about 4,000 stores in the United States (discount, supercenters, neighborhood markets, and Sam’s Clubs) as well as more than 2,200 stores in other countries, mostly in Mexico, Canada, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Its revenue exceeded $400 billion, with net income of about $15 billion. Sam Walton said it best, “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life. During the initial years, Walton focused on establishing new stores in small towns, with an average population...

Words: 14036 - Pages: 57

Free Essay

Ielts Speaking

...Part 1 最 常 考 问 题 及 参 考 答 案 注意很多问题后要加理由,不然考官就会问你“WHY” 第一部分很多是问个人信息的问题,答案因人而异,这里提供的答案可以做为范本,不符 合你的情况的可以做些修改。符合你的情况的,你可以练熟!还有一些问题,就是我们提 供的问题的变化,就是不同的问法,但是你可以用同一个方式来回答的,要记得考试时候 能听明白,然后会转化哦! 1. Your Work or Your Studies • Do you work or are you a student? Well, I am a senior in Zhejiang University and I’m planning to pursue my master’s degree in the U.K after my graduation. That’s why I take this test. 1a) Your Work General Description of Your Job • What job (or, what work) do you do? I’m a teacher at an English training center. I’ve been working there for several years. It’s my pleasure to see my students make progress, so I think this job is very suitable for me. • What is the nature of that work? It’s a teaching job. I help the students improve their English language skills and most of them are planning to take IELTS. • What do you do in that job? I teach English, both productive and receptive skills. My job is to help my students succeed in their studies and pass exams if they need to. • Would you say your job (or, your work) is very important? 、 I think so. I think the world will be much worse if there’re no teachers, especially good...

Words: 129903 - Pages: 520

Premium Essay

Mgmt 470 Test Bank 1-4

...market. TRUE Consumer products such as Citigroup credit cards, Coca-Cola soft drinks, video games, McDonald’s hamburgers, Starbucks coffee, and IKEA furniture are frequently held up as prototypical examples of this trend. The firms that produce these products are more than just benefactors of this trend; they are also facilitators of it. By offering the same basic product worldwide, they help to create a global market. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-01 Understand what is meant by the term globalization. Topic: What Is Globalization? 3. A company has to be the size of a multinational giant to facilitate, and benefit from, the globalization of markets. FALSE A company does not have to be the size of multinational giants to facilitate, and benefit from, the globalization of markets. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-01 Understand what is meant by the term globalization. Topic: What Is Globalization? 4. As a result of globalization, companies rarely need to customize marketing strategies, product features, and operating practices in different countries. FALSE Significant differences...

Words: 87342 - Pages: 350

Premium Essay

Ggggggg

...13±15 48143 Muenster Germany mkrafft@uni-muenster.de Professor Murali K. Mantrala, PhD University of Missouri ± Columbia College of Business 438 Cornell Hall Columbia, MO 65211 USA mantralam@missouri.edu ISBN-10 3-540-28399-4 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York ISBN-13 978-3-540-28399-7 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2005932316 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com ° Springer Berlin ´ Heidelberg 2006 Printed in Germany The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Hardcover-Design: Design & Production, Heidelberg SPIN 11543282 43/3153-5 4 3 2 1 0 ± Printed on acid-free paper ...

Words: 158632 - Pages: 635

Premium Essay

Strategy Management

...CONNECT FEATURES Interactive Applications Interactive Applications offer a variety of automatically graded exercises that require students to apply key concepts. Whether the assignment includes a click and drag, video case, or decision generator, these applications provide instant feedback and progress tracking for students and detailed results for the instructor. Case Exercises The Connect platform also includes author-developed case exercises for all 12 cases in this edition that require students to work through answers to assignment questions for each case. These exercises have multiple components and can include: calculating assorted financial ratios to assess a company’s financial performance and balance sheet strength, identifying a company’s strategy, doing five-forces and driving-forces analysis, doing a SWOT analysis, and recommending actions to improve company performance. The content of these case exercises is tailored to match the circumstances presented in each case, calling upon students to do whatever strategic thinking and strategic analysis is called for to arrive at a pragmatic, analysis-based action recommendation for improving company performance. eBook Connect Plus includes a media-rich eBook that allows you to share your notes with your students. Your students can insert and review their own notes, highlight the text, search for specific information, and interact with media resources. Using an eBook with Connect Plus gives your...

Words: 219639 - Pages: 879

Premium Essay

Multinational Corporation

...Multinational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment This page intentionally left blank Multinational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment Avoiding Simplicity, Embracing Complexity Stephen D. Cohen 1 2007 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright # 2007 by Oxford University Press Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, Stephen D. Multinational corporations and foreign direct investment: avoiding simplicity, embracing complexity / Stephen D. Cohen. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13 978-0-19-517935-4; 978-0-19-517936-1 (pbk.) ISBN 0-19-517935-8; 0-19-517936-6 (pbk.) 1. International...

Words: 160016 - Pages: 641

Free Essay

Business Correspondence

...assistance. Therefore, welldeveloped communication skills among originators are more important to success than ever before. This book is suitable for several different audiences, including undergraduate and graduate students. The organization of this manual is a logic sequence of chapters including both business communication and correspondence. The first part is dedicated to business communication and the second to business correspondence. The special features found in this edition are: 1. Examples of effective letter writing. Studies have shown students studying written business communication can learn as much, if not more, from ineffective examples of written communication as they do from effective examples. 2. Varied application problems in the writing-oriented chapters. The number of problems has been increased. While the majority of problems require the writing of a letter or report, some are designed to give students an opportunity to develop the often overlooked skill of editing. 3. Many new application problems in the non-writingoriented chapters. 4. New topics, such as nonverbal communication language, various types of speeches and presentations. 4 Part 1 BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE 1. The Business Letter 1.1. The Lay-Out of the Letter Subordinated to the aim envisaged by the...

Words: 59343 - Pages: 238

Premium Essay

Understanding Cross-Cultural Management

...Understanding Cross-Cultural Management Second Edition Marie-Joëlle Browaeys & Roger Price Part One CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT Concept 1.1 Facets of culture Introduction to Part One Setting the scene This introductory chapter will give an outline of the research in the field of culture and management, which in turn serves as a framework for Part One. The concept of culture Many experts in their fields have wracked their brains to come up with what they consider to be their concept of ‘culture’. Those working in the field of cultural anthropology, alone, for example, have come up with a long list of definitions of the concept, based on their analysis of ethnological, social, psychological and linguistic data. The attempt made by Bodley (1994) to summarize these (Table I.1) gives an idea of all the facets of culture that need to be taken into account from an anthropological perspective. Although acknowledging the multiplicity of cultures, the authors of this book consider that the fundamental aspect of culture is that it is something all humans learn in one way or another. It is not something people inherit, but rather a code of attitudes, norms and values, a way of thinking that is learnt within a social environment. Family, the social environment, school, friends, work – all these help to form this code and determine how people see themselves and the world. The national culture and the particular region which people live in also help to shape a...

Words: 97340 - Pages: 390

Premium Essay

3pl Services in India -Iift

........................... 3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3 Discussion Point 1: Definition of 3PL and its Evolution.................................................... 3 Discussion Point 2: Elaboration of the reasons for choosing 3PL. What is meant by value added services? ................................................................................................................... 4 Discussion Point 3: What are the salient findings from the literature? ............................. 5 What is lean supply chain? ................................................................................................. 5 Discussion Point 4: Discuss the functions of 3PL. ............................................................. 6 What services are provided globally (reference to additional literature)? ........................ 6 An Overview of the Logistics Sector in India .................................................................... 7 Discussion point 5: Potential of 3PL in India .................................................................... 7 The Indian Transport Infrastructure .................................................................................... 8 Discussion point 6: Present Status of 3PL in India ............................................................ 8 Discussion point 7: Analysis of logistics spending in...

Words: 18261 - Pages: 74

Premium Essay

B2B Brand Management

...ISBN-13 978-3-540-25360-0 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2006930595 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com ° Springer Berlin ´ Heidelberg 2006 Printed in Germany The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Hardcover-Design: Erich Kirchner, Heidelberg SPIN 11408604 43/3100-5 4 3 2 1 0 ± Printed on acid-free paper Foreword Brands are an important part of all cultures...

Words: 104254 - Pages: 418