Glossary of Trade & Shipping Terms - K

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• K.D. - Knocked down
• K.D.C. - Knocked down condition
• Kangera Basin Organization - The KBO promotes integrated exploitation and management of water and land resources in the Kangera Basin. Officially known as the Organization for the Managment and Development of the Kangera Basin (French: Organisation pour l'Amenagement et le Developpement du Bassin de la Riviere Kagera), the KBO was established in 1978; headquarters are in Kigali, Rwanda. BKO members inlcude: Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
• KB - Kangera Basin Organization
• KDD - Kokusai Denshin Denwa
• keel - Longitudinal girder at the lowest point of a ship.
• Keidanren - Keidanren (the Japanese Federation of Economic Organizations) was established in 1946 as a private, non-profit economic organization representing virtually all branches of economic activity in Japan.
• Keiretsu - Keiretsu refers to the horizontally and vertically linked industrial structure of post-war Japan. The horizontally linked groups include a broad range of industries linked via banks and general trading firms. There are eight major industrial groups, sometimes referred to as "Kigyo Shudan": Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, Fuyo, DKB, Sanwa, Tokai, and IBJ. The vertically linked groups (such as Toyota, Matshushita, and Sony) are centered around parent companies, with subsidiaries frequently serving as suppliers, distributors, and retail outlets. Common characteristics among the groups include crossholding of company shares, intra-group financing, joint investment, mutual appointment of officers, and other joint business activities. The keiretsu system emphasizes mutual cooperation and protects affiliates from mergers and acquisitions. Ties within groups became looser after the oil shocks of the 1970s as a result of decreasing dependence on banks for capital.
• KFAED - Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development
• KFTA - Korea Foreign Trade Association
• KfW - Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbal
• kg - kilogram
• KG - Kommanditgesellschaft
• kHz - kilohertz
• kl - kiloliter
• km - kilometer
• knot - One nautical mile (6,080 feet or 1,852 meters) per hour.
• Kokusai Denshin Denwa - The Kokusai Denshin Denwa Company, KDD, was established in 1953 but traces its history back to 1871 and the establishment of its predecessor organizations. For more than a century, the company was Japan's sole supplier of international telecommunications services and today remains Japan's leading international carrier. KDD is Japan's signatory to INTELSAT and INMARSAT.
• Kommanditgesellschaft - KG (German, meaning: "limited partnership") differs from the general partnership in that only the general partner (Komplementaer) has full personal liability for the liabilities of the partnership while the remaining (limited) partners' (Kommanditist) liability is limited to the specific amount of their contribution. The company must carry the name of one personally liable partner with reference to the existence of a company. The name of the general partner with unlimited liability may not be left out.
• Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien - KGaA (German, meaning: "limited partnership by shares") is a combination of the elements of a stock company and a limited partnership. There is at least one general partner whose liability is unlimited while limited shareholders have an interest in the stated capital divided into shares without being personally liable for the debts of the company.
• Korea Foreign Trade Association - KFTA, a non-profit, private business organization of Korean companies, provides information and services concerning trade both for members and for foreign businesses. KFTA, with headquarters are in Seoul, maintains some U.S. offices.
• Korea Trade Promotion Corporation - KOTRA, a non-profit organization, was established by the Korean government in 1962 to promote foreign trade. The corporation now also serves as an import promotion center offering a variety of free services in trade, investment, and international economic cooperation. KOTRA, with headquarters in Seoul, has a network of domestic and overseas offices, including several U.S. sites. KOTRA's U.S. telephone: 1-800-568-7248.
• KOTRA - Korea Trade Promotion Corporation
• Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau - The KfW (English: Reconstruction Loan Corporation) provides assistance to developing countries in the form of loans, grants, materials, or services. The KfW determines volume and use of funds, repayment conditions, interest rates, fund-release procedures, and monitoring requirements. It promotes the establishment of German companies in developing countries and promotiong new technologies by German companies in developing countries. See: Deutsche Finanzierungsgesellschaft fur Beteilgungen in Entwicklungslandern GmbH Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit.
• Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development - The KFAED is a Kuwaiti independent public institution which assists Arab and other developing countries in developing their economies by granting them concessional loans for development programs and by financing pre-investment studies of ways to expand production capacities. Fund operations, originally restricted to Arab countries, were extended to cover other developing countries in July 1974. In March 1981, the objectives of the Fund were extended to include participation in the capital and resources of development institutions and other types of establishments. These recipients have included: the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation, the International Development Association, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the Special Program of Assistance for African Countries. KFAED was established in December 1961; its headquarters are in Safat, Kuwait.
• Kyoto Convention - See: International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures.