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Fundamentals of Multinational Finance, 5e (Moffett et al.)
Chapter 17 Multinational Capital Budgeting and Cross-Border Acquisitions
Multiple Choice and True/False Questions
17.1 Complexities of Budgeting for a Foreign Project
1) The traditional financial analysis applied to foreign or domestic projects, to determine the
project’s value to the firm is called
A) cost of capital analysis.
B) capital budgeting.
C) capital structure analysis.
D) agency theory.
2) Which of the following is NOT a basic step in the capital budgeting process?
A) Identify the initial capital invested.
B) Estimate the cash flows to be derived from the project over time.
C) Identify the appropriate interest rate at which to discount future cash flows.
D) All of the above are steps in the capital budgeting process.
3) There are no important differences between domestic and international capital budgeting
methods.
4) Which of the following is NOT a reason why capital budgeting for a foreign project is more
complex than for a domestic project?
A) Parent cash flows must be distinguished from project cash flows.
B) Parent firms must specifically recognize remittance of funds due to differing rules and
regulations concerning remittance of cash flows, taxes, and local norms.
C) There are differing rates of inflation between the foreign and domestic economies.
D) All of the above add complexity to the international capital budgeting process.
5) It is important that firms adopt a common standard for the capital budgeting process for
choosing among foreign and domestic projects.
17.2 Project versus Parent Valuation
1) Project evaluation from the ________ viewpoint serves some useful purposes and/but should
________ the ________ viewpoint.
A) local; be subordinated to; parent’s
B) local; not be subordinated to; parent’s
C) parent’s; be subordinated to; local
D) none of the above
2) A foreign firm that is 20% to 49% owned by a parent is called a/an
A) subsidiary.
B) affiliate.
C) partner.
D) rival.
3) For financial reporting purposes, U.S. firms must consolidate the earnings of any subsidiary
that is over ________ owned.
A) 20%
B) 40%
C) 50%
D) 75%
4) Affiliate firms are consolidated on the parent’s financial statements on a ________ basis.
A) prorated
B) 50%
C) 75%
D) 100%
5) For international investments, relative to project cash flows, parent cash flows are often
dependent on the form of financing.
6) Which of the following considerations is NOT important for a parent firm when considering
foreign investment?
A) the form of financing
B) remittance of funds at risk due to political considerations
C) differing rates of national inflation
D) All of the above are important considerations.
17.3 Illustrative Case: Cemex Enters Indonesia
1) Given a current spot rate of 8.10 Norwegian krone per U.S. dollar, expected inflation rates of
6% in Norway and 3% per annum in the U.S., use the formula for relative purchasing power
parity to estimate the one-year spot rate of krone per dollar.
A) 7.87 krone per dollar
B) 8.10 krone per dollar
C) 8.34 krone per dollar
D) There is not enough information to answer this question.
2) When evaluating capital budgeting projects, which of the following would NOT necessarily
be an indicator of an acceptable project?
A) an NPV > $0
B) an IRR > the project’s required rate of return
C) an IRR > 0%
D) All of the above are correct indicators.
3) Given a current spot rate of 8.10 Norwegian krone per U.S. dollar, expected inflation rates of
3% in Norway and 6% per annum in the U.S., use the formula for relative purchasing power
parity to estimate the one-year spot rate of krone per dollar.
A) 7.87 krone per dollar
B) 8.10 krone per dollar
C) 8.34 krone per dollar
D) There is not enough information to answer this question.
4) When determining a firm’s weighted average cost of capital (wacc) which of the following
terms is NOT necessary?
A) the firm’s tax rate
B) the firm’s cost of debt
C) the firm’s cost of equity
D) All of the above are necessary.
5) When determining a firm’s weighted average cost of capital (wacc) which of the following
terms is NOT necessary?
A) the firm’s weight of equity financing
B) the accumulated depreciation
C) the firm’s weight of debt financing
D) All of the above are necessary to determine a firm’s wacc.
6) Of the following, which would NOT be considered an initial outlay at time 0 (today)?
A) investment in new equipment
B) redemption of net working capital
C) shipping and handling costs associated with the new investment
D) All of the above are initial outlays.
Instruction 17.1:
Use the information for the following question(s).
The Wheel Deal Inc., a company that produces scooters and other wheeled non-motorized
recreational equipment is considering an expansion of their product line to Europe. The
expansion would require a purchase of equipment with a price of euro 1,200,000 and additional
installation of euro 300,000 (assume that the installation costs cannot be expensed, but rather,
must be depreciated over the life of the asset). Because this would be a new product, they will
not be replacing existing equipment. The new product line is expected to increase revenues by
euro 600,000 per year over current levels for the next 5 years, however; expenses will also
increase by euro 200,000 per year. (Note: Assume the after-tax operating cash flows in years 1-5
are equal, and that the terminal value of the project in year 5 may change total after-tax cash
flows for that year.) The equipment is multipurpose and the firm anticipates that they will sell it
at the end of the five years for euro 500,000. The firm’s required rate of return is 12% and they
are in the 40% tax bracket. Depreciation is straight-line to a value of euro 0 over the 5-year life
of the equipment, and the initial investment (at year 0) also requires an increase in NWC of euro
100,000 (to be recovered at the sale of the equipment at the end of five years). The current spot
rate is $0.95/euro, and the expected inflation rate in the U.S. is 4% per year and 3% per year in
Europe.
7) Refer to Instruction 17.1. What are the annual after-tax cash flows for the Wheel Deal project?
A) euro 400,000
B) euro 240,000
C) euro 120,000
D) euro 360,000
8) Refer to Instruction 17.1. What is the initial investment for the Wheel Deal project?
A) $1,500,000
B) euro 1,600,000
C) $1,600,000
D) euro 1,500,000
9) Refer to Instruction 17.1. What is the NPV of the European expansion if Wheel Deal first
computes the NPV in euros and then converts that figure to dollars using the current spot rate?
A) $1,520,000
B) $1,684,210
C) -$75,310
D) -$71,544
10) Refer to Instruction 17.1. In euros, what is the NPV of the Wheel Deal expansion?
A) euro 1,524,690
B) $1,611,317
C) -euro 75,310
D) -euro 111,317
11) Refer to Instruction 17.1. What is the IRR of the Wheel Deal expansion?
A) 14.4%
B) 10.3%
C) 12.0%
D) 8.6%
12) Refer to Instruction 17.1. The European expansion would have a greater NPV in dollar terms
if the euro appreciated in value over the five-year life of the project and the project had a positive
NPV, other things equal.
13) The only proper way to estimate the NPV of a foreign project is to discount the appropriate
cash flows first and then convert them to the domestic currency at the current spot rate.
14) Benson Manufacturing has an after-tax cost of debt of 7% and a cost of equity of 12%. If
Benson is in a 30% tax bracket, and finances 40% of assets with debt, what is the firm’s wacc?
A) 11.20%
B) 10.36%
C) 9.72%
D) 7.68%
15) If a firm undertakes a project with ordinary cash flows and estimates that the firm has a
negative NPV, then the IRR will be
A) less than the cost of capital.
B) greater than the cost of capital.
C) greater than the cost of the project.
D) cannot be determined from this information.
16) Generally speaking a firm’s cost of ________ capital is greater than the firm’s ________.
A) debt; equity
B) debt; wacc
C) equity; wacc
D) None of the above is true.
17) When estimating a firm’s cost of equity capital using the CAPM, you need to estimate
A) the risk-free rate of return.
B) the expected return on the market portfolio.
C) the firm’s beta.
D) all of the above.
18) Calculate the cost of equity for Boston Industries using the following information: The cost
of debt is 5%, the corporate tax rate is 40%, the rate on Treasury Bills is 3.5%, the firm has a
beta of 0.8, and the expected return on the market is 12%.
A) 10.3%
B) 9.6%
C) 13.2%
D) 6.6%
19) ________ is the risk that a foreign government will place restrictions such as limiting the
amount of funds that can be remitted to the parent firm, or even expropriation of cash flows
earned in that country.
A) Exchange risk
B) Foreign risk
C) Political risk
D) Unnecessary risk
20) Which of the following is NOT an example of political risk?
A) There could be expropriation of cash flows by a foreign government.
B) The U.S. government restricts trade with a foreign country where your firm has investments.
C) The foreign government nationalizes all foreign-owned assets.
D) All of the above are examples of political risk.
21) Generally speaking, a firm wants to receive cash flows in a currency that is ________
relative to their own, and pay out in currencies that are ________ relative to their home currency.
A) appreciating; depreciating
B) depreciating; depreciating
C) appreciating; appreciating
D) depreciating; appreciating
22) When dealing with international capital budgeting projects, the value of the project is NOT
sensitive to the firm repatriating dividends to its parent.
23) Projects that have ________ are often rejected by traditional discounted cash flow models of
capital budgeting.
A) long lives
B) cash flow returns in later years
C) high risk levels
D) all of the above
TABLE 17.1
Use the information to answer the following question(s).
Jensen Aquatics Inc., which manufactures and sells scuba gear worldwide, is considering an
investment in either Europe or Great Britain. Consider the following cash flows for each project,
assume a 12% wacc, and consider these to be average risk projects for the firm. Answer the
questions that follow.
24) Refer to Table 17.1. The NPV for the British investment is estimated at
A) $3,092.
B) $6,420.
C) £3,092.
D) $0.
25) Refer to Table 17.1. The NPV for the European investment is estimated at
A) euro 4,945.
B) $4,945.
C) $6,420.
D) euro 6,420.
26) Refer to Table 17.1. Which of the following best summarizes the preliminary results of the
investment analysis for the two prospective investments?
A) The British investment should be accepted, the European investment rejected.
B) The British investment is superior to the European investment.
C) Both investments are acceptable.
D) None of the above is true.
27) Refer to Table 17.1. If the euro was forecast to remain constant at $1.00/euro throughout the
investment period, how would the investment decision now be characterized?
A) The project would be even better than forecast.
B) The British investment should be chosen over the European investment.
C) The NPV is $6,420.
D) All of the above are true.
28) When a foreign project is analyzed from the parent’s point of view, the additional risk that
stems from it’s “foreign” location is typically measured by ________ or ________.
A) adjusting the discount rates; adjusting the timing
B) adjusting the timing; adjusting the cash flows
C) adjusting the discount rates; adjusting the cash flows
D) none of the above
29) Which is NOT considered a shortcoming of the parent simply adjusting discount rates to
account for the additional risk that stems from a project’s foreign location?
A) Cash flows are already highly subjective.
B) Two-sided risk in that foreign currency may appreciate or depreciate.
C) Increased sales volume might offset the lower value of a local currency.
D) These are all shortcomings associated with discount rate adjustment.
30) Hydrotech Manufacturing of Houston Texas expects to receive dividends each year from a
foreign subsidiary for the next 5 years. The dividend is expected to grow at a rate of 7% per
year. If the euro depreciates in value against the dollar at a rate of 2% per year over the life of
the dividends, then the present value of the euro dividends to Hydrotech will be ________ if
there had been no change in the relative values of the euro and dollar.
A) less than
B) greater than
C) the same as
D) There is not enough information to answer this question.
17.4 Project Financing
1) Project financing is the arrangement of financing for very large individual long-term capital
projects.
2) Which of the following is NOT a factor critical to the success of project financing?
A) separability of the project from its investors
B) long-lived and capital intensive singular projects
C) cash flow predictability from third party commitments
D) All of the above are critical factors for project financing.
3) Project finance is typical for ________ industry
A) International Oil and Gas
B) Big, Government sponsored infrastructure projects
C) Retail
D) Automotive
17.5 Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions
1) The process of acquiring an enterprise anywhere in the world has the following common
elements EXCEPT
A) identification and valuation of the target.
B) the tender offer.
C) management of the post-acquisition transition.
D) All of the above are common elements in the process.
2) Which of the following would NOT be a potential reason for firms to pursue a cross-border
merger or acquisition?
A) gaining access to strategic proprietary assets
B) gaining market power and dominance
C) diversification and the spreading of risk
D) All of the above are potential reasons for an M & A.
3) Generally speaking, currency risk increases as time prior to acquisition of a foreign firm
decreases.
Essay Questions
17.1 Complexities of Budgeting for a Foreign Project
1) Explain how political risk and exchange rate risk increase the uncertainty of international
projects for the purpose of capital budgeting.
17.2 Project versus Parent Valuation
1) The authors highlight a strong theoretical argument in favor of analyzing any foreign project
from the viewpoint of the parent. Provide at least three reasons why the parent’s viewpoint is
superior to the local viewpoint and give an example of when the local viewpoint fails to
maximize the value of the firm.
17.3 Illustrative Case: Cemex Enters Indonesia
1) Capital budgeting typically requires some type of sensitivity analysis. In the case of
international capital budgeting from the project perspective, analysts consider political risk,
foreign exchange risk and foreign exchange risk. Identify and discuss the important aspects of
these two types of risk considerations.
17.4 Project Financing
1) What is project financing and what are the factors critical to its success?
17.5 Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions
1) Compared to a greenfield investment, list advantages and disadvantages of a cross-border
merger or acquisition.