A Comparative Study on a Supplier Credit and a Buyer Credit in International Transactions of Capital Goods - Focusing on Industrial Plant Exports, Shipbuilding Exports, and Overseas Constructions -

The international transactions of capital goods such as industrial plant exports, overseas constructions, and shipbuilding exports, are so huge that tremendous amount of funds are required, and that most of the loans are long-term credits of over five years. In the export of huge capital goods, financing is more crucial than technology itself. Some of the importing countries are developing ones that are politically and economically unstable. Therefore the financing mechanism for these transactions is conclusive in winning these projects. Global financial market instability caused by US sub-prime mortgage financial crisis expanded all over the world, and the international transactions have been decreased due to global credit crisis. This indicates how much influential the financing market is in international transactions. The financing schemes are classified into supplier credit and buyer credit by who provides the financing. A supplier credit is a credit extended by an exporter(seller) to an importer(buyer) as part of an export contract. Cover for this transaction may be extended by an export credit agency('ECA') to the exporter. In a sales contract a seller shall provide fund required to manufacture goods, and in a construction contract a contractor shall provide fund required to complete a construction. A buyer credit is an arrangement in which an exporter enters into a contract with an importer, which is financed by means of a loan agreement A Comparative Study on a Supplier Credit and a Buyer Credit in International Transactions of Capital Goods 155 where the borrower is the importer. In a sales contract a buyer shall provide fund required to manufacture and procure the goods, and in a construction contract an owner shall provide fund required to complete a construction. Therefore an exporter is paid on progressive payment method. A supplier credit and a buyer credit have their own advantages and disadvantages in the respect of the parties respectively. These two financing methods are selectively used considering financing conditions such as funding cost, importer's and/or exporter's financial conditions, importing country's political risk.