Submitted by: Sunidhi Mehta

Submitted to: Mr. Niles

Ascension of Our Lord S.S.
Course Code: BBB 4M1
January 17, 2011
Table of Contents
Topic Page
Number
Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………….
4 Description of Business
…………………………………………………………….. 5 Present Situation
……………………………………………………………………. 6 Risk Assessment
……………………………………………………………………. 8 Marketing Plan
……………………………………………………………………….. 10 Financial
Projections ………………………………………………………………... 11
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………….
13
Resources …………………………………………………………………………….
14 .
 VOICE INDUSTRIES LIMITED

Executive Summary:
Voice Industries Ltd. will be incorporated in Norway with its
headquarter situated in Oslo, the capital of Norway. It will have
branches in three other cities: Bergen, Trondheim and Stravanger.
Voice Industries is a telecommunication company with an aim to
provide reliable and economical communication services to its
customers. Since, everyone uses some cell phones or telephones to
keep in touch with one’s friends and family, the target market will
include people of all ages and groups. Voice Industries offers a wide
array of 'post-paid' and 'prepaid' mobile offers, with a range of tariff
plans that target different segments. A comprehensive range of value-
added, customized services is part of the unique package from the
Voice Industries.
The following report outlines the information regarding the
product description, management, marketing strategies, risk
assessment and financial projections.

4
 Description of the Business:
The mission of the Voice Industries is to provide reliable and
economical communication services to its customers through the
various phone plans it offers. The plans put forward by the
company are cost effective and can be afforded by anyone and
everyone. Since, Voice Industries is new to the Norwegians, its
short-term goal is to pull in maximum amount of customers and
make the company well known for the services it provides. The
long-term goal of the company is to expand into Internet and media
services too. Through offering unique yet economical services,
Voice Industries aspires to become the leading telecommunication
company of Norway.

CORPORATE STRUCTURE: Director Director

Marketing Legal and
Regulatory
Director
President Human Resources
Strategy and
Monitoring
Director Director
Finance IT and Innovation
Chief Managing
Director
Director Director
Trondheim Oslo
President
Telecommunication
Director Director
Bergen Stravange
The company will further consist of full time and part time r
workers. Each office will have one general manager and two senior
managers. The company will run six days a week i.e. from Monday to
Saturday, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. On Sunday, the offices will be
closed.
Voice Industries is a subordinate company to the Bell Canada,
which is one of the leading telecommunication companies of Canada. 5
Voice Industries offers a wide array of 'post-paid' and 'prepaid' mobile
offers, with a range of tariff plans that target different segments. A
comprehensive range of value-added, customized services is part of
the unique package from the Voice Industries.

Present Situation:
 Voice Industries’ telephone services go beyond basic telephony
to offer our users a whole host of Value Added Services as well as
premium add-ons. Few of the Value Added Services offered are Calling
Line Identification, Three Party Conferencing, Dynamic Lock, Hunting
Numbers, and Parallel Ringing etc. The phone plans Voice Industries
provides are varied and depend on the customer. However, they can
be broadly classified into three categories that are presented below:

Prepaid Plans Postpaid Plans Postpaid Plans

(Unlimited) (Limited)
These plans will These plans have no These plans are a mix
essentially maximum or of the prepaid and
provide the user minimum cost. The the post-paid plans.
with a limited talk customer will be The user will be
time. The user will charged as per his charged as per
have to recharge usage at the end of his/her usage.
his/her phone each month. However, they can
once the talk time set a limit to their
runs out. This can account. Once this
cost him limit is crossed,
anywhere they can only
between 20 NOK receive calls and
to 200 NOK make emergency
depending on the calls.
usage.
*There will be an initial cost of 50 NOK the customer has to pay only once I.e. while buying the
connection.
Since, Voice Industries will be providing a service rather than a product
there will be no imports or exports required.
Cellular phones have shown an incredible growth in Norway,
since 1999, as Norwegians found a need for cellular phones in their 6
businesses and personal life. Voice Industries offers improved
telephone technology that is less expensive and more efficient. It the
first company in Norway to offer a mix of prepaid and post-paid plans.
The most common plans offered by Norwegian companies tend to be
either prepaid or post-paid. Also, these companies charge money for
incoming calls and messages and discontinuation. The customer has to
sign a contract with the company too and can be penalized if he/she
violates its stipulations. No such conditions exist for our customers.
There is only an initial cost of 50 NOK i.e. while purchasing our
services. Further on, the customer will be charged as per the plan
he/she chooses. The incoming calls and messages in all plans are free
of cost.

Business Climate:
 Norway’s cell phone usage, Internet access, wireless Internet
access are among the highest rates anywhere in the world. There are
roughly 4.5 million people in Norway, which utilize 2.9 million fixed
lines and 3 million mobile lines. Norway recently went through the
privatization process of their telecommunication industry due to which
growing number of telecommunication companies are emerging. The
deregulation of the telecommunications industry in Norway is showing
signs of improvement. New providers are beginning to emerge in the
form cable companies, electric companies, wireless carriers, and
network providers are all beginning to increase competition over the
business and consumer markets.

Risk Assessment:
The most problematic factors for doing business in Norway are
presented below in the graph.

Norway has restrictive labour regulations that result in an

increased cost for the businesses. Labour laws consist of several
compulsory statutes and regulations providing considerable protection
of the employee. In 1977, the Working Environment Act was passed
that outlined the maximum and minimum regular working hours, the
maximum use of overtime and the permissibility of the shift and night
work. Also, all employees are entitled to 25 days of paid vacation per
year (or 4 weeks and one day, as Saturdays are included). Employees
over 60 years are granted an additional week of vacation. The vacation
pay is 10.2% of the annual pay, 12.5% for employees over 60 years.
The laws regarding termination of an employee are also included in
this act. Each employee, from the president to the sales
representative, has to be given a 3-6 months notice before
termination. All the above-mentioned laws and regulations are extra
costs that have to be incurred by the company and hence, reduce the
profits accumulated by the sales.
Enterprises doing business in Norway are subject to a vast
number of direct and indirect taxes. The most common taxes are as
follows:
- Corporate income tax at 28%
- Value added tax at 25%
- Employer’s part of social security contribution, ranging from 0-14%
The Norwegian tax system is quite complex with a wide range of
specific regulations applicable for foreign enterprises doing business in 8
Norway. In addition, there are a lot of reporting requirements, which
have to be adhered to. Non-compliance with Norwegian tax regulations
can cause a lot of unnecessary work and be quite expensive.
Additionally, some other risks may be the cultural differences,
language barrier, unpredictable business environment and fluctuating
exchange rates. Norwegians are a strong-minded people who are loyal
to their country and country mates. If the company and its employees
can't be bothered to learn to read and speak Norwegian, they are
ostracized/ignored by the locals. Lastly, the rugged terrain of Norway
with high plateaus, steep fjords and mountains may also offer some
difficulty in setting up the business in Norway.

Marketing Plan:
Major Competitor: Voice Industries will be making its debut in a
competitive market. The distribution of the market share is shown in
the pie diagram below.

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With Telenor, being in control of the 80% of the market share, it is the
main competitor of the Voice Industries.

Marketing Strategies: Voice Industries deals with providing inexpensive

yet efficient phone services to its user. From the phone plans that have
been discussed above, it can be concluded that the phone expenses of
the person will depend on his/her usage. However, the ‘post-paid
(limited) plans’ offered by the company can help set a limit to these
expenses. Voice Industries is new to Norway and hence, the pull
strategy will be implemented to attract customers.
 Voice Industry banners will be put up at malls and public
frequented places in all the four cities: Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and
Stravanger.
 The services provided by the Voice Industries will be advertised
in newspapers, magazines and online; commercials will run on
television and on any online video sites; and pamphlets will be
distributed to people to make them familiar with the company.
 For any purchases within the first six months from incorporation,
the customers will be given 0.01 kroners per minute for every
phone call he/she receives. This will serve as an incentive to the
people. They are being paid rather being charged for the incoming
calls.
Financial Projections:
The goal of the company is to acquire at least 1 million
customers by the end of 2013 (i.e. 3years). Voice Industries foresees 2-
3 years of breaking even or incurring losses up to 7%. Norwegians are
unfamiliar with the company and may not feel comfortable switching to
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a new company. It may take some years to gain trust of our customers.
Initially, Voice Industries will be taking a loan of 250 Million NOK from
the Norges Bank of Norway at 4% per annum for 5 years. Another 250
Million NOK will be granted by the Bell Canada to set up the business.
After 3 years, Voice Industries predict a profit up to 15 – 35%.
Currently, the offices will open in four major cities of Norway but as
times goes on, the company will expand to other cities too.

Corruption Index:
Norway has a Corruption Perception Index of 8.6 and is ranked
10th in the world, as per the 2010 rankings.
(Key: 0 = Highly Corrupt 10 = Very Clean)

Overview of Norway:
Population* (millions) 4.6
Population growth rate* (%) 0.3
Literacy (%) 100.0
Unemployment rate (%) 3.2
Inflation (%) 2.1
Population below poverty line (%) N/A
GDP** (USD billions) 267.4
GDP real growth rate (%) -1.5
GDP per capita** (USD) 57,400.0
Public debt (% of GDP) 60.6
Exports (USD billions) 122.8
Imports (USD billions) 65.8
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold (USD billions) 48.9
Kroner 11
Currency
NOK
Exchange rate per USD) 9/24/2010 5.9
Exchange rate (per EUR) 9/24/2010 7.9
*July 2010 estimates
**PPP - Purchasing Power Parity

Gross Domestic Product for last 10 Years:

Conclusion:
In conclusion, Voice Industries has a 50% chance of
accomplishing its goals. The company faces a tough competition from
the Telenor telecommunication. It is an old company and has been
around for a longer period. It may be hard to break ice with
Norwegians too since, they are loyal to their country mates. They may 12
even ostracize the company and its employees if they do not speak
their language. Also, Norway has harsh laws regarding taxation and
labour regulations. Non-compliance or violation of these laws will result
in unnecessary work that could be quite expensive.
Conversely, Voice Industries does offer some rather unique
offers that may attract customers. Its ‘post-paid (limited) plans’ are
one of a kind. It also provides the customer with a wide array of phone
plans, does not charge for incoming calls and messages and the
customers do not have to sign any contract contrary to other
telecommunication companies including Telenor. These reasons can
help promote the company and make it successful.
In my opinion, Voice Industries is a good investment and has a
potential to be a successful enterprise.

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Resources:

 "Corruption Perceptions Index 2010." NDTV.com: India, Business,

Bollywood, Cricket, Video and Breaking News. Web. 08 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/corruption-perceptions-index-
2010-62539>.

 "Norway Business Forecast Report - Business Monitor

International." Business Monitor International - Country Risk,
Industry, Company Intelligence. Web. 08 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.businessmonitor.com/bf/norway.html>.

 "Norway- Credit-to-Cash Advisor E-Newsletter." Credit and

Collections Resource Center- Credit-to-Cash Advisor E-Newsletter.
Web. 09 Jan. 2011. <http://www.credit-to-cash-
advisor.com/Articles/CountryRisk/Norway>.

 "AN INTRODUCTION TO NORWEGIAN BUSINESS LAW FOR

FOREIGN BUSINESSMEN." Brakhusdege.no. Web. 08 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.brakhusdege.no/upload/Artikler/Norwegian
%20Business%20Law%2029.7.2010.pdf>

 “Doing Business in Norway." Thommessen - Law Firm. Web. 10

Jan. 2011. <http://www.thommessen.no/Filer/PDF/Doing
%20business%20in%20Norway.pdf>.

 "Short Term Economic Indicators for Norway." Statistisk

Sentralbyrå - Forside. Web. 10 Jan. 2011.
<http://www.ssb.no/en/indicators/>.

 "Norway." U.S. Department of State. Web. 10 Jan. 2011.

<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3421.htm>.

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