what is meant by capital-intensive?

Answer 1

Capital-intensive means requiring a lot of capital (machinery, equipment, buildings, structures, etc.) One of the most capital-intensive industries, for example, is oil refining, because it requires building very expensive refineries.

Answer 2

Contrary to popular belief, capital is *not* money.

Capital is the means of production, and the nature of capital depends on what one is producing, but it generally covers reusable assets such as land, tools, machines, and buildings. Capital intensive means the costs of capital are greater than the cost of labor.

For example, semiconductor manufacturing is capital-intensive because it requires specialized machinery, factories, and access to raw materials. Much of the labor can be done by minimally trained machine operators.

Because capital usually requires money to acquire, a capital-intensive operation is often expensive - it usually characterizes an industry that is difficult to enter because of very high startup costs.

Answer 3

'capital intensive' simply means something requires heavy investment.

for example, setting up a factory is capital intensive, since you'd need to invest lots of money in plant and machinery, land, etc.

Answer 4

Let us say you are farming and you want a big crop. You could plant lots of seeds over a big area. That is land intensive. Or you could hire a lot of farm labourers to work the hand, that is labour intensive. Or you could invest in a lot of farming machinery, that is capital intensive.

Answer 5

Capital means money. So that term would mean putting a lot of money into something, or that it's really expensive.

Answer 6

Costs a lot of money. Need to invest heavily.