International Financial Management, 10th Edition EUN b b b b b
Chapter 1-21
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CHAPTER 1 b
GLOBALIZATION AND THE MULTINATIONAL FIRM b b b b
ANSWERS & SOLUTIONS TO END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
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QUESTIONS
1. Why is it important to study international financial management?
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Answer: We are now living in a world where all the major economic functions, such as
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consumption, production, investment, and financing, are highly globalized.
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b for financial managers to fully understand vital international dimensions of financial
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management. This global shift is in marked contrast to a situation that existed when the
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authors of this book were learning finance a few decades ago. At that time, most professors
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customarily (and safely, to some extent) ignored international aspects of finance.
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of operation has become untenable since then.
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2. How is international financial management different from domestic financial management?
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Answer: There are three major dimensions that set apart international finance from domestic
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finance. They are:
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1. foreign exchange and political risks,b b b b
2. market imperfections, and b b
3. expanded opportunity set. b b
3. Discuss the major trends that have prevailed in international business during the last
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two decades.
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Answer: The 2000s brought a rapid integration of international capital and financial markets.
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Impetus for globalized financial markets initially came from the governments of major
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countries that had begun to deregulate their foreign exchange and capital markets. The
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economic
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,integration and globalization that began in the eighties and nineties are picking up speed in
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the 2000s. Trade liberalization and economic integration continued to proceed at both the
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regional and global levels. Despite sovereign debt crisis in Europe, more EU member
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countries have adopted the common currency, the euro, that effectively became the second
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global currency after the U.S. dollar. In the last few years, however, economic nationalism
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has been gaining some popularity, as exemplified by the Brexit decision of the United
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Kingdom and the so-called
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―America First‖ policies of the Trump Administration. To the extent that economic nationalism is
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a populist response to the global financial crisis and Great Recession, it may subside as the
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world economy continues to recover.
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4. How is a country‘s economic well-being enhanced through free international trade in
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goods and services?
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Answer: According to David Ricardo, with free international trade, it is mutually beneficial for
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two countries to each specialize in the production of the goods that it can produce relatively
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most efficiently and then trade those goods. By doing so, the two countries can increase
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their combined production, which allows both countries to consume more of both goods. This
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argument remains valid even if a country can produce both goods more efficiently in absolute
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terms than the other country. International trade is not a ‗zero-sum‘ game in which one
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country benefits at the expense of another country. Rather, international trade could be an
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‗increasing- sum‘ game from which all players become winners.
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5. What considerations might limit the extent to which the theory of comparative advantage
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is realistic?
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Answer: The theory of comparative advantage was originally advanced by the nineteenth
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century economist David Ricardo as an explanation for why nations trade with one another.
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The theory claims that economic well-being is enhanced if each country produces what it has
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a comparative advantage in producing relative to other countries, and then trade products.
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Underlying the theory are the assumptions of free trade between nations and that the factors
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of production (labor, technological know-how, and capital) are relatively immobile. To the
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extent that these assumptions do not hold, the theory of comparative advantage may not
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realistically describe international trade. In addition, free trade produces winners and losers
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and if the losers are not compensated, free trade may faces political opposition from them.
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6. What are multinational corporations (MNCs) and what economic roles do they play?
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,Answer: A multinational corporation (MNC) can be defined as a business firm incorporated in
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one country that has production and sales operations in many other countries. Indeed, some
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MNCs have operations in a few dozens of different countries.
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major money centers around the world in many different currencies to finance their operations.
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Global operations force the treasurer‘s office to establish international banking relationships, to
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place short-term funds in several currency denominations, and to effectively manage foreign
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exchange risk. By circumventing and also taking advantage of various market imperfections,
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such as barriers to trade and barriers to flow of people and capital across countries, MNCs
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contribute to greater integration of the world economy and ing more perfect functioning of
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global markets.
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7. Ross Perot, a former Presidential candidate of the Reform Party, which was a third
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political party in the United States, had strongly objected to the creation of the North American
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Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which nonetheless was inaugurated in 1994. Perot feared the
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loss of American jobs to Mexico where it is much cheaper to hire workers. What are the
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merits and demerits of Perot‘s position on NAFTA? Considering the recent economic
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developments in North America, how would you assess Perot‘s position on NAFTA?
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Answer: Since the inception of NAFTA, many American companies indeed have invested
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heavily in Mexico, sometimes relocating production from the United States to Mexico.
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Although this might have temporarily caused unemployment of some American workers, they
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were eventually rehired by other industries often for higher wages. At the same time, Mexico
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has been experiencing a major economic boom. It seems clear that both Mexico and the U.S.
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have benefited from NAFTA. Perot‘s concern appears to have been ill founded.
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8. In 1995, a working group of French chief executive officers was set up by the
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Confederation of French Industry (CNPF) and the French Association of Private Companies
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(AFEP) to study the French corporate governance structure. The group reported the following,
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among other things: ―The board of directors should not simply aim at maximizing share
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values as in the U.K. and the U.S. Rather, its goal should be to serve the company, whose
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interests should be clearly distinguished from those of its shareholders, employees, creditors,
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suppliers and clients but still equated with their general common interest, which is to safeguard
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the prosperity and continuity of the company‖. Evaluate the above recommendation of the
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working group.
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Answer: The recommendations of the French working group clearly show that shareholder
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wealth maximization is not a universally accepted goal of corporate management, especially
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, outside the United States and possibly a few other Anglo-Saxon countries including the United
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b Kingdom and Canada. To some extent, this may reflect the fact that share ownership is not
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b wide spread in most other countries.
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9. Emphasizing the importance of voluntary compliance, as opposed to enforcement, in the
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b aftermath of such corporate scandals as those involving Enron and WorldCom, U.S.
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b President George W. Bush stated that while tougher laws might help, ―ultimately, the ethics
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b of American business depends on the conscience of America‘s business leaders.‖ Describe
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b your view on this statement.
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Answer: b There can be different answers to this question. If business leaders always behave
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b with a high ethical standard, many of the corporate scandals we have seen lately might not
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b have happened. Since we cannot fully depend on the ethical behavior on the part of individual
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b business leaders, the society should protect itself by adopting the rules/regulations and
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b governance structure that would induce business leaders to behave in the interest of the
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b society at large. But at the same time, we need to make sure that excessive regulations do not
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b stymy free enterprises, an important engine of economic growth. It is important to strike the
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b right balance.b
10. Suppose you are interested in investing in shares of Samsung Electronics of Korea, which
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b is a world leader in mobile phones, TVs, and home appliances. But before you make
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b investment decision, you would like to learn about the company. Visit the website of Yahoo
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b (http://finance.yahoo.com) and collect information about Samsung Electronics, including the b b b b b b b b
b recent stock price history and analysts‘ views of the company. Discuss what you learn about
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b the company. Also discuss how the instantaneous access to information via internet would
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b affect the nature and workings of financial markets.
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Answer: As students might have learned from visiting the website, information is readily
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b available even for foreign companies like Samsung Electronics. Ready access to international
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b information helps integrate financial markets, dismantling barriers to international investment
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b and financing. Integration, however, may help a financial shock in one market to be quickly
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b transmitted to other markets. b b b
11. Most companies make corporate decisions to maximize their profits, without taking into
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consideration the possibly negative effects of corporate activities on the environments,
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thereby
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bHILL bLLC