Equity sharing is another name for shared ownership or co-ownership . It takes one property , more than one owner, and blends them to maximize profit and tax deductions . Typically, the parties find a home and buy it together as co-owners, but sometimes they join to co-own a property one of them already owns. At the end of an agreed term, they buy one another out or sell the property and split the equity . In England, equity sharing and shared ownership are not the same thing (see the United Kingdom and England sections below).
52-511: A joint venture ( JV ) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership , shared returns and risks , and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access a new market, particularly emerging market ; to gain scale efficiencies by combining assets and operations; to share risk for major investments or projects; or to access skills and capabilities. Most joint ventures are incorporated, although some, as in
104-437: A 2.2 percent average ROA, while wholly owned and controlled affiliates in the U.S. only realized a 0.7 percent ROA." In European law , the term "joint venture" is an exclusive legal concept, better defined under the rules of company law . In France , the term "joint venture" is variously translated as "association d'entreprises", "entreprise conjointe", "coentreprise" or "entreprise commune". A JV can be brought about in
156-713: A JV aimed at defining standards or serving as an "industry utility" that provides a narrow set of services to industry participants. Some major joint ventures include United Launch Alliance , Vevo , Hulu , Virgin Media O2 , Penske Truck Leasing , and Owens-Corning . According to Gerard Baynham of Water Street Partners, there has been much negative press about joint ventures, but objective data indicate that they may actually outperform wholly owned and controlled affiliates . He writes, "A different narrative emerged from our recent analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) data, collected from more than 20,000 entities. According to
208-456: A JV. Though dealt with briefly for a shareholders' agreement , some issues must be dealt with here as a preamble to the discussion that follows. There are also many issues which are not in the Articles when a company starts up or never ever present. Also, a JV may elect to stay as a JV alone in a "quasi partnership" to avoid any nonessential disclosure to the government or the public. Some of
260-410: A contract today, then negotiations will take place tomorrow. Ownership improves the bargaining position in these negotiations. As a result, today an owner has stronger incentives to make relationship-specific investments (i.e., the hold-up problem is mitigated). In this framework, Schmitz (2017) has shown that shared ownership of an asset can be desirable today, even though tomorrow it is optimal to give
312-466: A document constitutes a binding contract depends only on the presence or absence of well-defined legal elements in the text proper of the document (the so-called " four corners "). The required elements are offer and acceptance , consideration , and the intention to be legally bound ( animus contrahendi ). In the US, the specifics can differ slightly depending on whether the contract is for goods (falls under
364-462: A formal, legally enforceable contract (though an MoU is often a first step towards the development of a formal contract). In the United Kingdom , the term MoU is commonly used to refer to an agreement between parts of The Crown . The term is often used in the context of devolution , for example the 1999 concordat between the central Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and
416-418: A matter of law, the title of MoU does not necessarily mean the document is binding or not binding under international law . To determine whether a particular MoU is meant to be a legally binding document (i.e., a treaty), one needs to examine the parties’ intent as well as the signatories' position (e.g., Minister of Foreign Affairs vs. Minister of Environment). A careful analysis of the wording will also clarify
468-495: A principal disadvantage is absence of an interested and influential Chinese party. As of the 3rd Quarter of 2004, WFOEs had replaced EJVs and CJVs as follows: (*)=Financial Vventures by EJVs/CJVs (**)=Approved JVs These enterprises are formed under the Sino-Foreign Investment Act. The capital is composed of value of stock in exchange for the value of the property given to the enterprise. The liability of
520-494: A step up to full ownership of a property. Although investor shared equity is, on the face of it, more expensive than public sector schemes, because of the need to pay rent on the non-owned portion, it nevertheless holds significant advantages: In economic theory, ownership is studied in the field of contract theory . Specifically, Oliver Hart (1995) has argued that ownership matters in the context of incomplete contracts . When some future contingencies cannot be taken care of in
572-420: Is a type of agreement between two ( bilateral ) or more ( multilateral ) parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used either in cases where parties do not imply a legal commitment or in situations where the parties cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement . Whether
SECTION 10
#1732772054632624-404: Is allowed to enter into contracts with appropriate government authorities to acquire land use rights, rent buildings, and receive utility services. In this it is more similar to a CJV than an EJV. WFOEs are expected by PRC to use the most modern technologies and to export at least 50% of their production, with all of the investment is to be wholly provided by the foreign investor and the enterprise
676-787: Is conferred by the federal tax code, this ownership vehicle can be used in any state. Companies in the United States include Unison Homeownership Investors, Landed, and OwnHome Mortgage & Finance. There are many uses of the term "Equity Sharing" in the UK, often applied to different forms of Low Cost Home Ownership schemes. These include equity loans , sometimes referred to as Equity Sharing Loans, and some forms of Shared Ownership (part buy/part let) leasehold schemes being referred to as an Equity Sharing Lease. Some local authorities may also refer to resale price restrictions under planning documentation as being Equity Sharing arrangements. However,
728-604: Is described below. The EJV Law is between a Chinese partner and a foreign company. It is incorporated in both Chinese (official) and in English (with equal validity), with limited liability. Prior to China's entry into WTO – and thus the WFOEs – EJVs predominated. In the EJV mode, the partners share profits, losses, and risk in equal proportion to their respective contributions to the venture's registered capital. These escalate upwardly in
780-411: Is not currently available as the funding for 2009-10 has already been fully committed. Social Homebuy allows tenants of participating Councils and housing associations to buy their rented home on shared ownership terms, with a proportion of the usual Right to Acquire discount. FirstBuy was a scheme for first-time buyers announced in the 2011 Budget. Under it first-time buyers can get help to fund
832-470: Is what will happen if the firm is dissolved, if one of the partners dies, or if the firm is sold. Often, the most successful JVs are those with 50:50 partnership with each party having the same number of directors but rotating control over the firm, or rights to appoint the Chairperson and Vice-chair of the company. Sometimes a party may give a separate trusted person to vote in its place proxy vote of
884-514: Is within his total control. WFOEs are typically limited liability enterprises. Like with EJVs, but the liability of the directors, managers, advisers, and suppliers depends on the rules which govern the Departments or Ministries which control product liability, worker safety or environmental protection. An advantage the WFOE enjoys over its alternates is enhanced protection of its know-how but
936-696: The Scottish Environment Directorate . MoUs can also be used between a government agency and a non-commercial, non-governmental organization. In international relations, MoUs fall under the broad category of treaties and should be registered in the United Nations treaty collection. In practice and in spite of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs ' insistence that registration be done to avoid 'secret diplomacy', MoUs are sometimes kept confidential. As
988-540: The Uniform Commercial Code ) or services (falls under the common law of the state). Many companies and government agencies use MoUs to define a relationship between departments, agencies or closely held companies. In business , an MoU is typically a legally non-binding agreement between two (or more) parties, outlining terms and details of a mutual understanding or agreement, noting each party's requirements and responsibilities—but without establishing
1040-486: The World Trade Organization (WTO) around 2001 has had profound effects on foreign investment. Not being a JV, they are considered here only in comparison or contrast. To implement WTO commitments, China publishes from time to time updated versions of its "Catalogs Investments" (affecting ventures) prohibited, restricted. The WFOE is a Chinese legal person and has to obey all Chinese laws. As such, it
1092-464: The oil and gas industry , are "unincorporated" joint ventures that mimic a corporate entity. With individuals, when two or more persons come together to form a temporary partnership for the purpose of carrying out a particular project, such partnership can also be called a joint venture where the parties are " co-venturers ". The venture can be a business JV (for example, Dow Corning), a project/asset JV intended to pursue one specific project only, or
SECTION 20
#17327720546321144-450: The "constitution" of a company in these countries. The articles of association regulate the interaction between shareholders and the directors of a company and can be a lengthy document of up to 700,000 or so pages. It deals with the powers relegated by the stockholders to the directors and those withheld by them, requiring the passing of ordinary resolutions , special resolutions and the holding of Extraordinary General Meetings to bring
1196-459: The DOC data, foreign joint ventures of U.S. companies realized a 5.5 percent average return on assets (ROA), while those companies' wholly owned and controlled affiliates (the vast majority of which are wholly owned) realized a slightly lower 5.2 percent ROA. The same story holds true for investments by foreign companies in the U.S., but the difference is more pronounced. U.S.-based joint ventures realized
1248-639: The Founder at board meetings. Recently, in a major case the Indian Supreme Court has held that Memorandums of Understanding (whose details are not in the articles of association) are "unconstitutional" giving more transparency to undertakings. A JV is not a permanent structure. It can be dissolved when: Joint ventures are risky forms of business partnerships . Literature in business and management has paid attention to different factors of conflict and opportunism in joint ventures, in particular
1300-547: The JV becomes a new entity with the implications that: On the receipt of the Certificate of Incorporation, a company can commence its business. This is a legal area and is fraught with difficulty as the laws of countries differ, particularly on the enforceability of "heads of" or shareholder agreements. For some legal reasons, it may be called a Memorandum of Understanding . It is done in parallel with other activities in forming
1352-464: The JV's life, giving the option to the foreign investor, by holding higher equity, obtains a faster rate of return with the concurrent wish of the Chinese partner of a later larger role of maintaining long-term control. The parties in any of the ventures, EJV, CJV or WFOE prepare a feasibility study outlined above. It is a non-binding document – the parties are still free to choose not to proceed with
1404-534: The US) covering know-how and trademarks and supply-of-equipment agreements. The minimum equity is prescribed for investment truncated, where the foreign equity and debt levels are: There are also intermediary levels. The foreign investment in the total project must be at least 25%. No minimum investment is set for the Chinese partner. The timing of investments must be mentioned in the Agreement and failure to invest in
1456-409: The asset to the party who values it most. The reason is that shared ownership yields more balanced investment incentives of the involved parties. The optimal ownership shares depend on whether the investments are embodied in the physical capital (so that the owner can always seize the returns) or in the parties’ human capital. Memorandum of Understanding A memorandum of understanding ( MoU )
1508-442: The buyer's deposit and (typically) a 75% mortgage, in return for an equity stake in the property and a rent. These schemes are run over 5 or 10 years (sometimes with a 'hardship' extension), meaning that at the end of the relevant period, the owner has to buy out the equity stake at the relevant percentage of the then market value. There is generally no penalty on early redemption or partial buy-backs. Thus, equity sharing can be seen as
1560-461: The cases, the status of the formed enterprise is that of a legal Chinese person which can hire labor directly as, for example, a Chinese national contactor. The minimum of the capital is registered at various levels of investment. Other differences from the EJV are to be noted: Convenience and flexibility are the characteristics of this type of investment. It is therefore easier to find co-operative partners and to reach an agreement. With changes in
1612-621: The death of Mao Zedong in 1976, initiatives in foreign trade began to be applied, and law applicable to foreign direct investment was made clear in 1979, while the first Sino-foreign equity venture took place in 2001. The corpus of the law has improved since then. Companies with foreign partners can carry out manufacturing and sales operations in China and can sell through their own sales network. Foreign-Sino companies have export rights which are not available to wholly Chinese companies, as China desires to import foreign technology by encouraging JVs and
Joint venture - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-461: The difference between a 5% deposit and a 75% mortgage. It was only available on selected newbuild schemes. The top-up equity was provided in equal shares by the HCA and the developer. Private sector shared equity or, as it is sometimes known, investor shared equity , operates quite differently in that there is no element of taxpayer subsidy. Instead, third party investors provide the difference between
1716-484: The directors' decision to bear. A Certificate of Incorporation or the Articles of Incorporation is a document required to form a corporation in the U.S. (in actuality, the state where it is incorporated) and in countries following the practice. In the US, the "constitution" is a single document. The Articles of Incorporation is again a regulation of the directors by the stock-holders in a company. By its formation,
1768-574: The exact nature of the document. The International Court of Justice has provided some insight into the determination of the legal status of a document in the landmark case of Qatar v. Bahrain , 1 July 1994. One advantage of MoUs over more formal instruments is that, because obligations under international law may be avoided, they can often be put into effect without requiring legislative approval. Hence, MoUs are often used to modify and adapt existing treaties, in which case these MoUs have factual treaty status. The decision concerning ratification, however,
1820-470: The following major ways: In the UK , India , and in many common law countries, a joint-venture (or else a company formed by a group of individuals) must file its memorandum of association with the appropriate authority. This is a statutory document which informs the public of its existence. It may be viewed by the public at the office in which it is filed. Together with the articles of association , it forms
1872-526: The full lease from the landlord in the future, if you can afford to do so. The UK government facilitates shared equity chiefly through the Homes and Communities Agency . As of 2009 this was under the banner of HomeBuy . This aims to help households earning up to £60,000 p.a. New Build HomeBuy is where purchasers buy at least 25% of a newly built home, and pay rent on the remainder. The HCA generally subsidises housing associations or other providers to hold
1924-566: The indicated time, draws a penalty. Co-operative Joint Ventures (CJVs) are permitted under the Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures. Co-operative enterprises are also called Contractual Operative Enterprises. The CJVs may have a limited structure or unlimited – therefore, there are two versions. The limited-liability version is similar to the EJVs in status of permissions – the foreign investor provides
1976-537: The influence of parent control structure, ownership change, and volatile environment. Government procurement regulations, such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the United States, may specify how joint ventures are to be approached as suppliers or confirm that a joint venture or other form of contractor partnering is seen as a "desirable" arrangement for supplying to government. The FAR states that The Government will recognize
2028-404: The integrity and validity of contractor team arrangements [including joint ventures], provided the arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective. The Government will not normally require or encourage the dissolution of contractor team arrangements. Under
2080-416: The issues in a shareholders' agreement are: There are many features which have to be incorporated into the shareholders' agreement which is quite private to the parties as they start off. Normally, it requires noтуОЧ submission to any authority. The other basic document which must be articulated is the Articles, which is a published document and known to members. This repeats the shareholders agreement as to
2132-719: The latest technologies. Under Chinese law, foreign enterprises are divided into several basic categories. Of these, five will be described or mentioned here: three relate to industry and services and two as vehicles for foreign investment. Those five categories of Chinese foreign enterprises are: the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures (EJVs), Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures (CJVs), Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises (WFOE), although they do not strictly belong to Joint Ventures, plus foreign investment companies limited by shares (FICLBS), and Investment Companies through Foreign Investors (ICFI). Each category
Joint venture - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-480: The law, it becomes possible to merge with a Chinese company for a quick start. A foreign investor does not need to set up a new corporation in China. Instead, the investor uses the Chinese partner's business license, under a contractual arrangement. However, under the CJV, the land stays in the possession of the Chinese partner. There is another advantage: the percentage of the CJV owned by each partner can change throughout
2236-402: The majority of funds and technology and the Chinese party provides land, buildings, equipment, etc. However, there are no minimum limits on the foreign partner which allows him to be a minority shareholder. The other format of the CJV is similar to a partnership where the parties jointly incur unlimited liability for the debts of the enterprise with no separate legal person being created. In both
2288-402: The number of directors each founder can appoint to the board of directors; whether the board controls or the founders; the taking of decisions by simple majority (50%+1) of those present or a 51% or 75% majority with all directors present (their alternates/ proxy ); the deployment of funds of the firm; extent of debt; the proportion of profit that can be declared as dividends; etc. Also significant
2340-473: The project. The feasibility study must cover the fundamental technical and commercial aspects of the project, before the parties can proceed to formalize the necessary legal documentation. The study should contain details referred to earlier under Feasibility Study (submissions by the Chinese partner). There is basic law of the PRC concerning enterprises with sole foreign investment controls, WFOEs. China's entry into
2392-420: The remaining share. The rent is capped at 3% of the value of the unsold share, but typically set at 2.75%. Purchasers may buy additional shares whenever they can afford to do so; this is known as "staircasing". HomeBuy Direct was introduced in 2009, under which the government and a housing developer jointly fund an equity loan of 30% of the valuation, so that the purchaser only needs to pay a mortgage on 70% of
2444-548: The rules applicable to public procurement in the European Union , public bodies may insist that suppliers intending to provide goods and services through a joint partnership accept joint liability for the execution of the contract. According to a 2003 report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development , China was the recipient of US$ 53.5 billion in direct foreign investment, making it
2496-440: The same proportion as the increase in registered capital. The JV contract accompanied by the articles of association for the EJV are the two most fundamental legal documents of the project. The Articles mirror many of the provisions of the JV contract. In case of conflict the JV document has precedence. These documents are prepared at the same time as the feasibility report. There are also the ancillary documents (termed "offsets" in
2548-524: The shareholders, including debt, is equal to the number of shares purchased by each partner. Shared ownership Equity sharing became desirable in the United States when in 1981 Section 280A of the Internal Revenue Code allowed mixed tax use of a single property for the first time permitting the occupier to claim principal residence tax deductions and the investor to claim investment property tax deductions. Since shared ownership
2600-471: The use of shared equity in reference to shared ownership is inaccurate, because shared ownership is not ownership, but is in fact an assured tenancy under the terms of the Housing Act 1988. With a shared equity scheme you own all of the property, albeit you have a loan on a part of your deposit – whereas with a shared ownership scheme you do not own the share you bought, but instead have the chance to buy
2652-415: The value. If the purchaser buys an additional share, all three parties participate in any increase in value. The HCA allocated £300 million to the scheme for 2009—2011, and 10,000 homes are available under the initiative. Open Market Homebuy allowed purchasers to buy at least 25% of a property on the open market , with a conventional mortgage on that part, and a low-interest loan on the remainder. This
SECTION 50
#17327720546322704-424: The world's largest recipient of direct foreign investment for the first time, to exceed the US. Also, it approved the establishment of nearly 500,000 foreign-investment enterprises. The US had 45,000 projects by 2004 with an in-place investment of over 48 billion. Until recently, no guidelines existed on how foreign investment was to be handled due to the restrictive nature of China toward foreign investors. Following
#631368