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Joint Venture vs. Associate: Categorizing a Shared Investment in a Dubai Establishment
Utah has a 9% holding in Dubai Establishment. Each of the seven other investors in Dubai holds between 10% and 15% of its equity. The Dubai Establishment owns a fleet of ships that is used by all the investors to transport their own products around the world. The investors are also all obligated for liabilities relating to the fleet of ships per the terms of the contractual arrangement. The operation of Dubai and of its fleet is the subject of a detailed agreement among all the investors. How should this investment be classified? An associate A joint operation A joint venture A subsidiary

Based on the information provided, the investment in Dubai Establishment by Utah and the other investors indicates a collaborative arrangement where all investors have significant influence but no single investor controls the entity. Given the shared use of the fleet of ships and the shared obligations and benefits related to the fleet, as well as the detailed agreement among all investors, this scenario suggests a joint operation or joint venture structure. However, since the term "joint venture" is often used to describe a specific type of joint operation where the parties have agreed to collaborate for a particular project or business objective, which seems to be the case here with the shared use of the shipping fleet.

Therefore, this investment should be classified as: A joint venture