Special Economic Zone and Their Role and Impact on the International Business Environment

Abstract

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is an area of a country designated and administered by the government for development. This concept is designed to foster economic growth and international trade. SEZs represent an often controversial part of globalization since they set conditions under which foreign investments can be taken without restrictions, tax exemptions, or other benefits or privileges usually available only to domestic investors. The purpose of this article is to inform you on what a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is and how it impacts on international business environment.  It will also describe how a SEZ has been chosen and what a company must do to begin a business here. The research is based on limited published and unpublished data from limited reliable source and database. The paper concludes that if corporate believe SEZs are purely designed for profit maximization without any social benefits, and then they will have negative impacts on the international business environment. However, if corporate believe that government has serious concern about its people's living standards while enhancing economic growth, and then they may have positive impacts on the international business environment by contributing to fair competition.