Glossary Foreign affiliate A foreign affiliate is synonymous with a foreign direct investment enterprise. The
present Manual makes recommendations on the collection of statistics which focus
on the activity of foreign affiliates that are majority owned by a direct investor.
Foreign direct investment Foreign direct investment is the category of international investment that reflects
the objective of a resident entity in one economy to obtain a lasting interest in an
enterprise resident in another economy.
Foreign direct investment enterprise A foreign direct investment enterprise is an incorporated or unincorporated
enterprise in which a direct investor resident in another economy owns 10 per cent
or more of the ordinary shares or voting power (for an incorporated enterprise) or
the equivalent (for an unincorporated enterprise).
Globalization The term globalization is generally used to describe an increasing
internationalization of markets for goods and services, the means of production,
financial systems, competition, corporations, technology and industries. Among
other things, this gives rise to increased mobility of capital, faster propagation of
technological innovations and an increasing interdependency and uniformity of
national markets.
Goods The 1993 SNA defines goods as physical objects for which a demand exists, over
which ownership rights can be established and whose ownership can be transferred
from one institutional unit to another by engaging in transactions on markets; they
are in demand because they may be used to satisfy the needs or wants of
households or the community or used to produce other goods or services.
Juridical person A juridical person, in GATS, means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise
organized under applicable law, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether
privately owned or governmentally owned, including any corporation, trust,
