International Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Finance - Case Study Example In 1993, ICI demerged its bioscience businesses to a publicly listed company, Zeneca Group PLC. 1997 saw ICI transforming from a regional manufacturer of bulk chemicals to a global specialty chemical and paints leader with the acquisition of Unilever's Speciality Chemicals businesses. Over the last decade, ICI has transformed its portfolio through a number of acquisitions and divestments worth more than 12 billion. Proceeds from divestments have helped ICI reduce its net debt and improve its balance sheet strength (ICI Annual Report, 2006). This paper evaluates the international operations of ICI and discusses how important international trade is for the ICI Group. Various analyses are conducted such as strategic, financial, SWOT, and risk to provide a deeper insight into the company's international operations. ICI Board comprises of the Chairman, Chief Executive, 3 directors, and five non-executive directors. Collectively, the Board is responsible for the success of the company. Through the Chief Executive, the Board delegates to management the overall performance of the company through the setting of clear objectives, building long-term management capability and ensuring that the business is managed in conformity with the business principles. Core businesses Core businesses of ICI comprise ICI Paints and the adhesives, specialty starches, specialty polymers and electronic materials operations of National Starch. These businesses serve diverse consumer and industrial markets through 40 strategic business units. These businesses are supported by Group functions that provide expertise in the disciplines of information technology, finance, human resources, operations, procurement, safety, security, and applied technology (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI Paints has some of the world's leading paint and decorative product brands. ICI makes products to prepare and care for many building materials, and provides coatings for cans and packages. It is headquartered in the UK and has operations in 25 countries (ICI Annual Report, 2006). National Starch markets a broad array of products to various sectors such as food, healthcare and construction. It has four divisions that are grouped around adhesives, specialty starches, specialty polymers and electronic materials. National Starch is headquartered in the United States, and has manufacturing and customer service centres in 39 countries (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI has a number of regional and industrial businesses, principal operations for which are located in Pakistan and Argentina. They include the manufacture of pure terephthalic acid, polyester, sulphur-related chemicals, wine chemicals and soda ash (ICI Annual Report, 2006). ICI is headquartered in the UK, with geographically diversified operations worldwide. Asia and Latin America account for 36% of sales, North America 33%, Europe 29%, and the rest of the world 2%. ICI's businesses have adopted a staffing policy whereby local nationals are typically hired. Total employee strength at ICI is 29, 130, of which 87% are located outside the UK. ICI Group has operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More than 60% of the Group's revenue comes from sectors which are believed to be non-cyclical in nature, such