- Activities of venture capital
Venture capital represents a mode of financing, particularly adapted to development of
enterprises in sectors of high technology. Venture capital is a particular form of
financing that combines:
- Making available necessary equity capital; and
- Assisting in management.
Equity capital may be brought in the form of participation in the capital or subscription to
convertible bonds. The funds may equally be brought in as loans, bonds or bonds-with-
warrants.
Creation of a company with venture capital may constitute, for big groups, a means of
access to advanced technologies. Normally, participation in venture capital is not meant
to last long. As soon as the enterprise is able to develop using its own means, it is resold.
As the growth of the enterprise so financed blocks all disposable funds for the period of
participation, the investors receive neither interest nor dividend. Returns on placement
depend on the capital gain at the time of the sale.
- Foreign capital budgeting decisions
Capital budgeting decisions relating to project investment abroad require data pertaining
to their incremental investment outlays, operating costs and benefits which can be
conveniently, wholly and exclusively identified with proposed investment. It is very
significant to draw a distinction between total and incremental cash flows. In other
words, the data which do not affect the present decision either in terms of investment
outlays, revenue costs or benefits are irrelevant. For instance, the cost of land which is
lying vacant in factory premises of a ‘subsidiary’ and is not being let out as a policy
decision, would not constitute a relevant capital/investment cost for setting up a new
plant to produce a new product. Likewise, the existing overheads (either of parent or of
subsidiary multinational corporation, MNC), if allocated, are to be excluded.
In effect, the cost to be relevant must be incremental in nature and so must be the benefits
and revenues accruing from the proposed decision. If the new product, in some way,
adversely affects the existing levels of sales of other product(s) of the firm, the profit
contribution foregone from such lost sales also constitutes relevant data. For instance, if
a MNC builds up a new plant overseas in a country, to which it was hitherto exporting,
total sales/income of the subsidiary are not relevant; only incremental sales/income are
relevant as there is substitution of foreign production for parent company exports.
Therefore, budgeted profits from the new project must be scaled down by the earnings on
the lost sales.
In the event of increase in sales of other products of the parent company as a result of
setting up a new plant abroad (acquired strong local market position in several product
lines), profit earned on increased sales should be taken into account in estimating