ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on international leasing strategies and decisions from the lessor's point of view. Traditional analysis of leasing has focused almost exclusively on the problem of the lessee, the user of equipment. A lessor may have different decision-making procedures and methods with respect to an international leasing project compared with a lessee. The most obvious difficulties are those associated with differing cultural and financial traditions, and accounting practices, complicated by legal barriers, transaction costs and taxation. Like domestic leasing decisions, international leasing decisions from the lessor's point of view also focus primarily upon the expected incremental cash flows. The leasing industry is currently undergoing internationalisation: the expansion of leasing firms into countries outside their headquarters. For independent lessors, the major strategies are to set up subsidiaries, joint-ventures, and licenses in foreign countries, or conduct direct cross-border leasing. Leveraged leasing is one of the most complex and sophisticated vehicles for financing capital equipment in today's financial marketplace.
