Simply put an “International Company” is any company that operates internationally. A Multinational Corporation takes a worldwide view of markets and production; it is willing to consider market and production locations anywhere in the world. Some Multinational Companies ("MNCs") have become very large and very powerful. Some, for example, are worth more than the entire GDP of many countries. So MNCs can have an enormous effect, for good and for ill, on the countries they do business in, especially if those countries are small and/or poor. Research, write notes  and give a brief presentation on the main areas of influence:

The Balance of Payments - MNCs import large amounts of capital in order to pay for their new business investments; factories, offices or whatever. This surplus on the capital account creates a deficit on the current account i.e. the country is importing more goods and services than it is exporting. This lifts local standards of living until the import of capital stops for whatever reason and then standards fall again. If the new business is for import substitution (i.e. producing locally what had been imported) then imports fall and the current account improves. If the new business is developing local raw materials for export (e.g. oil exploration) then the exports of raw material also improve the current account. But, the MNC may need to import large amounts of technical equipment not available locally, and this will worsen the current account. If the MNC re-invests its profits then there is no effect on the Balance of Payments, but if it repatriates its profits, the current account worsens.

Employment - Generally, MNCs set up new businesses which need new workers and so employment is improved; jobs are created. However, it depends on the skills match between the new jobs and the local employment market. The business may set up a factory specifically designed to suit the local employment market. But in the Middle East oil states, for example, there are many factories producing for the local consumer markets. Sometimes the jobs are too demanding for the locals, and sometimes the jobs are too demeaning. Either way, the result is huge numbers of expatriate workers from India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and so on and at the same time large local unemployment. But, MNCs can sometimes provide devastating competition for local businesses which may end up closing which creates unemployment. MNCs usually employ fewer workers; that is part of their greater efficiency. The MNC may then relocate again after a period of years.

Technology transfer - An MNC invariably operates to a higher standard of managerial and technical expertise than the local economy. Local employees can learn about these things and the local economy can benefit from this new expertise. Even the UK can benefit, so we are not simply talking about developing countries where technology transfer is enormously important. This will depend on how willing the MNC is to employ and train local workers.

Social responsibility - Standards and regulations are another kind of business cost, and MNCs are always looking for lower costs. So there is an advantage to locating in countries with few regulations. Some poor countries are prey to corruption and bribery which means their few regulations are ineffective. India, for example, has excellent environmental protection laws, on paper. In practice, the inspectors are so badly paid it only costs a matter of dollars to get them to look the other way. This opens the way for a slippage of standards below the levels considered acceptable in the MNCs home country.

Government control - It is quite difficult for some governments to exercise effective control over MNCs because they are so large and powerful. One MNC may be the dominant force in the local economy. Even large and wealthy countries such as the UK can’t always control MNCs effectively. They have a wide repertoire of tricks to minimize government control, especially taxes.

Intellectual Property Rights – Intellectual property is a general term for the set of intangible assets owned and legally protected by a company from outside use or implementation without consent. Stemming from its ability to provide a firm with competitive advantages, defining IP as an asset aims to provide it the same protective rights as physical property. Obtaining such protective rights is critical as it prevents replication by potential competitors—a serious threat in a web-based environment or the mobile technology sector, for example. An organization that owns IP can realize value from it in several ways, namely through utilizing it internally—for its own processes or provision of goods and services to customers—or sharing it externally. The latter can be achieved through legal mechanisms such as royalty rights. IP as an asset category can be divided into four distinct types—copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets.

World Trade Organisation- The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. the WTO is accused of widening the social gap between rich and poor it claims to be fixing and favouring MNCs and wealthier nations.

Antitrust laws- also referred to as "competition laws, is the broad category of federal and state laws that are meant to keep business operating honest and fairly. Antitrust laws regulate the way companies do business. The goal is to level the playing the field in the free market and prevent businesses from having too much power. For the purposes of antitrust law, a trust is a large group of businesses that work together or combine in order to form a monopoly or control the market. Antitrust laws ban companies from taking certain actions in order to develop monopolies. They ban what some people see as deceptive trade practices that companies might want to use in order to try and outperform the competition.