Foreign ownership

Nature

Foreign ownership refers to the ownership of a portion of a country's assets (businesses, natural resources, property, bonds, equity etc.) by individuals who are not citizens of that country or by companies whose headquarters are not in that country.

Foreign ownership of assets is widespread in a modern, globally integrated economy, at both the corporate and individual levels. An example of the former is when a corporation acquires part, or all, of another company headquartered overseas, or when it purchases property, infrastructure, access rights or other assets in countries abroad. If a multinational corporation acquires at least half of a foreign company, the multinational corporation becomes a holding company, and the company receiving the foreign investment becomes a subsidiary.

At the individual level, foreign ownership occurs whenever a domestic asset is acquired by a foreign individual, such as an Indian businessman buying a house in Hong Kong, or a Russian citizen purchasing United States Treasury bonds.

Source: Wikipedia

Claim 
1. Foreign ownership is only one aspect of the broader question of the rights of society in relation to individual resource owners and users. It raises the issue of public versus private ownership as a means of management, and confronts our basic assumptions on lifestyle and standard of living.

2. Foreign ownership troubles those who want a comfortable, assured life, it increases prejudice and fears, it threatens local pride and smooth operation of the economy, disturbs the public order, adversely affects the country's competitors, and may impair the safety of the general public.

3. It is easier for a French car-maker to close a factory in Belgium as part of a cost-cuting drive than it would have been to shut down an operation in France.

Value(s) 
Type 
(D) Detailed problems