November 9 is World Leasing Day.
The phenomenon of leasing has long found its place in the business sector. Today, this term, which not so long ago seemed something incomprehensible, has become familiar to many people, even those who have nothing to do with business. For business, leasing is an important component. In certain areas, its role is very large and, being a type of business in itself, leasing allows for the implementation of various types of economic activities.
The most common area for leasing is transport: road (passenger, freight, passenger, tourist), aviation, river, sea, railway. The leased object can be special equipment, equipment (trade, production, medical, etc.), real estate (mainly production, commercial and warehouse).
In fact, leasing – is a type of financial services or lending. The literal meaning of the term is translated from English as «renting». That is, leasing in simple language – is a long-term lease with subsequent purchase of leased property.
The use of leasing in certain areas of economic activity is either the only possible way to do business, or the most profitable, when there are no own funds to purchase property in full, and lending is not profitable. In addition, the acquisition of fixed assets in the form of leasing makes it possible to reduce the tax burden, and the use of leaseback makes it possible to eliminate the gap in the company’s working capital.
The history of leasing originates in the Ancient World. There is reason to believe that similar schemes for leasing tools were used by ancient Sumerians, but the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle was generally close to the idea of modern leasing in his thoughts. He argued that in order to generate income it is not at all necessary to have property, but it is enough to have the right to use it and make a profit. There are references to the use of similar economic schemes in both Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages. Industrial development has given a new impetus to the development of leasing in European countries and the USA.
A well-known fact of the use of leasing in the USSR was the signing of the Lend-Lease Agreement on the supply of equipment and weapons between allies in the anti-Hitler coalition.
In the USSR, leasing was used to a limited extent: in the air fleet and in transport in organizations participating in international economic relations. The development of free market relations contributed to the expansion of leasing in the Russian economy.
The idea of establishing World Leasing Day was proposed in 2017 by the Lithuanian leasing company AviaAM Leasing, specializing in the purchase, sale and leasing of narrow-body and regional aircraft. The company's initiative was aimed at uniting a huge number of specialists working in the field of leasing, the need to establish a World Day, which should contribute to the development of leasing as an economic activity, spreading awareness among society and the business world about the advantages and economic feasibility of leasing. The idea of establishing World Leasing Day is promoted through professional communities, as well as through social networks.