http://www.englishforums.com/English/GeneralEnglishVocabularyIdiom-Questions/Forum29.htmHelp with defining words and idioms, and new words and idioms that you've learntenXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146148Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:06:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:146148Mister Micawber0http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146148http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-146148.xml(This is Chinese law, I presume. It certainly sounds strange to a western capitalist-- here you can try to do business in any range of businesses you like-- no certification of your capital required: you either have the money or you don't.) Googling business scope turned up an interesting observation: the phrase seems to be used almost exclusively as a title or section heading in reports, prospectuses, etc. Under the title of Business Scope , then, the company's range of interests is stated in other terms, like these: (1) Our company includes four major lines of activities , including the importing, trading, and distributing the following items (2) A s the core enterprise of CTS Group, CTS (Holdings)...http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146109Fri, 22 May 2009 20:06:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:146109Anonymous1http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146109http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-146109.xmlI'd like to put my question to a more specific sense for your further consideration. Actually when i say "business scope", i mean types of businesses a company can be engaged in. The "business scope" particulary concerns a man when he wants to set up a company with the relevant authority. The point is that a larger scope of business means a larger certified capital prescribed by law: a man may want to do a lot of businesses, say, manufacture of food, steel, clothes or even more things you can figure out (foreign trade, shipping etc). But if he does not have enough money, he will only be allowed to do some of them rather than so many as he wants. Look forward to your further comments if this has provided you with anything new. tkshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146101Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:06:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:146101Mister Micawber2http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146101http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-146101.xmlI think I would just go with business : As its major business , this company is engaged in sales and purchases of minerals. Your Canadian friend (and both Clive and I are Canadian) may be confusing the common phrase in the course of business , which means 'while doing business': Interest received on notes receivable or late charges that you collect in the ordinary course of business is business income .http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146043Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:06:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:146043Clive3http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htm#146043http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-146043.xmlHi, Neither 'business scope' nor 'course of business' sound natural to me. I'd say 'line of business', or perhaps 'type of business' or 'business area'. Best wishes, Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htmThu, 22 Jan 2009 21:06:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:146040Anonymous4http://www.englishforums.com/English/BusinessScope/bmmzk/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-146040.xmlI'd like to know what is the right expression to describe the businesses a company is engaged in. I used to utilise the expression "business scope", but today i encountered another expression from a canadian's writing i.e. "course of business". so could someone tell me which one is natively used. thank you all. PS: maybe i'd better give an example to better illuminate my question: "As its major business scope/course of business, this company is engaged in sales and purchases of minerals."