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International Investment Projects In March 2014, BMW announced plans to spend $1 billion to expand production at its South Carolina plant. The plant produced the second-generation BMW X3 as well as the company’s X5 and X6 models. The new investment would allow BMW to build the new, larger X7. BMW apparently felt it would be better able to compete and create value with a U.S.-based facility. In fact BMW actually expected to export 70 percent of the X3s produced in South Carolina. Also in 2014, Swiss power storage company Alevo Group announced plans to build a $1billion plant in North Carolina, and gun manufacturer Beretta announced plans to open a plant in Tennessee. What are some of the reasons that foreign manufacturers of products as diverse as automobiles, batteries, and guns might arrive at the same conclusion to build plants in the United States?
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Chapter 5 Solutions
UPENN: LOOSE LEAF CORP.FIN W/CONNECT
- Global Reach, Inc., is considering opening a new warehouse to serve the Southwest region. Darnell Moore, controller for Global Reach, has been reading about the advantages of foreign trade zones. He wonders if locating in one would be of benefit to his company, which imports about 90 percent of its merchandise (e.g., chess sets from the Philippines, jewelry from Thailand, pottery from Mexico, etc.). Darnell estimates that the new warehouse will store imported merchandise costing about 16.78 million per year. Inventory shrinkage at the warehouse (due to breakage and mishandling) is about 8 percent of the total. The average tariff rate on these imports is 5.5 percent. Required: 1. If Global Reach locates the warehouse in a foreign trade zone, how much will be saved in tariffs? Why? (Round your answer to the nearest dollar.) 2. Suppose that, on average, the merchandise stays in a Global Reach warehouse for nine months before shipment to retailers. Carrying cost for Global Reach is 6 percent per year. If Global Reach locates the warehouse in a foreign trade zone, how much will be saved in carrying costs? What will the total tariff-related savings be? (Round your answers to the nearest dollar.) 3. Suppose that the shifting economic situation leads to a new tariff rate of 13 percent, and a new carrying cost of 6.5 percent per year. To combat these increases, Global Reach has instituted a total quality program emphasizing reducing shrinkage. The new shrinkage rate is 7 percent. Given this new information, if Global Reach locates the warehouse in a foreign trade zone, how much will be saved in carrying costs? What will the total tariff-related savings be? (Round your answers to the nearest dollar.)arrow_forwardDue to rising labor costs in Malaysia, Domain Computer, based in Singapore, is considering shorting part of its production facilities from Malaysia to an emerging market, Vietnam, to better integrate its supply chain in the South east Asia region. John Lawson, the CFO of the company, estimates that Domain Computer needs to invest USD735,000 to acquire an existing factory in Vietnam and another USD285,000 in renovations and installation of new machineries. The cost of training new workers is estimated to be USD310,000. Andrew believes that the new factory will lead to an estimated USD928,000 savings in labor costs and another USD417,000 savings in logistics expenses. Required: Use cost-benefit analysis to recommend whether Domain Computer should shift parts of its production facilities from Malaysia to Vietnam. Explain your answer.arrow_forwardDue to rising labor costs in Malaysia, Domain Computer, based in Singapore, is considering shifting part of its production facilities from Malaysia to an emerging market, Vietnam, to better integrate its supply chain in the South east Asia region. John Lawson, the CFO of the company, estimates that Domain Computer needs to invest USD735,000 to acquire an existing factory in Vietnam and another USD285,000 in renovations and installation of new machineries. The cost of training new workers is estimated to be USD310,000. He believes that the new factory will lead to an estimated USD928,000 savings in labor costs and another USD417,000 savings in logistics expenses. Required: Use cost-benefit analysis to recommend whether Domain Computer should shift parts of its production facilities from Malaysia to Vietnam. Explain your answer. You are required to write 500 to 800 words. ( Currently I have completed my Cost-benefit analysis; but I am confused as to how to use PESTLE's analysis with…arrow_forward
- Suppose that Kittle Co. is a U.S. based MNC that is considering setting up a subsidiary in Singapore. Kittle would like this subsidiary to produce and sell guitars locally in Singapore, and needs assistance with capital budgeting. The duration of this project is four years, with an initial investment of S$20,000,000 (Singapore dollars). Kittle Co. managers have provided you with the forecasted demand (number of guitars sold), along with the forecasted price at which each guitar can be sold, over the next four years. e following table with the total revenue from the subsidiary for years 1 through 4, in Singapore dollars (S$) e Year S$ Year 1 60,000 units S$350 S$ Year 2 60,000 units S$350 S$ Year 3 100,000 units S$360 S$ Year 4 100,000 units S$380arrow_forwardSavory Seafood Inc. is a U.S. firm that wants to expand its business internationally. It is considering potential projects in both Germany and Mexico, and the German project is expected to take six years, whereas the Mexican project is expected to take only three years. However, the firm plans to repeat the Mexican project after three years. These projects are mutually exclusive, so Savory Seafood Inc.’s CFO plans to use the replacement chain approach to analyze both projects. The expected cash flows for both projects follow: Project: German Year 0: –$1,120,000 Year 1: $370,000 Year 2: $390,000 Year 3: $420,000 Year 4: $330,000 Year 5: $220,000 Year 6: $95,000 Project: Mexican Year 0: –$520,000 Year 1: $275,000 Year 2: $280,000 Year 3: $295,000 If Savory Seafood Inc.’s cost of capital is 11%, what is the NPV of the German project? Assuming that the Mexican project’s cost and annual cash inflows do not change when the project is…arrow_forwardVarious industries suffer from an acute shortage of semiconductors (an essential component in electronic gadgets). Since the start of 2022, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, increased chip prices by as much as 20%. United Microelectronics (UMC) has also issued a price increase of its own, raising quotes for 28nm and 22nm processes. A third semiconductor manufacturer based in China-Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) has joined TSMC and UMC in raising its prices for 28nm and 40nm processes. i. Consider the market for semiconductors is perfectly competitive. What will be the impact of an increase in prices for semiconductors on manufacturers' profits in the short and long-run? Explain your answer with reference to the law of supply. ii. Now consider that the semiconductors market is an oligopoly, where TSMC, UMC and SMIC control 90 per cent of the market share. Do you think the unanimous action of the three giant…arrow_forward
- Evaluating projects with unequal lives Tasty Tuna Corporation is a U.S. firm that wants to expand its business internationally. It is considering potential projects in both Germany and Thailand, and the German project is expected to take six years, whereas the Thai project is expected to take only three years. However, the firm plans to repeat the Thai project after three years. These projects are mutually exclusive, so Tasty Tuna Corporation’s CFO plans to use the replacement chain approach to analyze both projects. The expected cash flows for both projects follow: Project: German Year 0: –$800,000 Year 1: $380,000 Year 2: $400,000 Year 3: $420,000 Year 4: $375,000 Year 5: $110,000 Year 6: $85,000 Project: Thai Year 0: –$475,000 Year 1: $225,000 Year 2: $235,000 Year 3: $255,000 If Tasty Tuna Corporation’s cost of capital is 10%, what is the NPV of the German project? a.)$535,797 b.)$563,997 c.)$507,597 d.)$451,198…arrow_forwardShimada Products Corporation of Japan is anxious to enter the electronic calculator market. Management believes that in order to be competitive in world markets, the price of the electronic calculator that the company is developing cannot exceed $15. Shimada’s required rate of return is 12% on all investments. An investment of $5,000,000 would be required to purchase the equipment needed to produce the 300,000 calculators that management believes can be sold each year at the $15 price.Required:Compute the target cost of one calculator.arrow_forwardBMW, owner of the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands, has been a major presence in Europe since 1916. The company still sells 46 percent of its cars in Europe, and growth is highest there. However, China is becoming one of BMW’s most important markets. In 2016, the company sold over 520,000 cars in China, and BMW has turned to the Chinese market as a primary focus for future sales. Despite rising sales revenues, BMW is conscious that its profits are often wiped out by changes in exchange rates. The company has pointed out that it was hit particularly hard by China’s currency devaluation in late 2015. BMW Brilliance Automotive Co. Ltd., BMW’s subsidiary in China, imports about half its components from Europe and elsewhere, and it faced major declines in profit because of the negative effects of unfavorable exchange rates. However, BMW did not want to pass those exchange rate costs on to consumers through price increases. Its rival, Porsche, had done that in the United States at the end…arrow_forward
- BMW, owner of the BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce brands, has been a major presence in Europe since 1916. The company still sells 46 percent of its cars in Europe, and growth is highest there. However, China is becoming one of BMW’s most important markets. In 2016, the company sold over 520,000 cars in China, and BMW has turned to the Chinese market as a primary focus for future sales. Despite rising sales revenues, BMW is conscious that its profits are often wiped out by changes in exchange rates. The company has pointed out that it was hit particularly hard by China’s currency devaluation in late 2015. BMW Brilliance Automotive Co. Ltd., BMW’s subsidiary in China, imports about half its components from Europe and elsewhere, and it faced major declines in profit because of the negative effects of unfavorable exchange rates. However, BMW did not want to pass those exchange rate costs on to consumers through price increases. Its rival, Porsche, had done that in the United States at the end…arrow_forward1: Mars Technologies is considering setting up a plant in a foreign country. The plant will have an estimated useful life of 4 years and the estimated costs of setting it up are $20 million. The company’s CFO has estimated the following cash flows associated with the new plant: Year 1 = $5.8 million Year 2 = $7.9 million Year 3 = $8.6 million Year 4 = $10.5 million The company is concerned about its current exports to the foreign country, which are expected to be reduced by $1,200,000 for each of the 4 years. Given that the company’s required rate of return is 12%, what is the NPV of the project? Q#2: Jupiter Inc.’s directors are considering expanding their operations in foreign markets. They estimate that the cost of expansion is approximately $42 million. The company’s CFO has estimated that new foreign operations will generate the following cash flows: Year 1 = $2,120,000 Year 2 = $2,838,000 Year 3 = $3,480,000 Year 4 = $4,570,000 Year 5 onward, the cash flow stream is going to…arrow_forwardA Chinese automobile company is going to use one of its unused manufacturing plants in China to produce 20,000 cars a year. The cars will then be sold in the United States for $40,000 per vehicle. The plant has been fully depreciated. Production and assembly costs in China will be RMB 120,000 per vehicle and selling and administrative costs in the U.S. will be $30 million per year. The company will pay taxes in China at a rate of 35% and will not pay taxes in the U.S. Assume the current exchange rate is 7 RMB/$. It is expected that the plant will operate for 5 years and then cease operations. What are the expected yearly sales, expressed in RMB, assuming the current exchange rate? 5,600,000,000 800,000,000 560,000,000 3,600,000,000 What is the expected yearly net after-tax cash flow, expressed in RMB, assuming the exchange rate stays constant? 5,600,000,000 1,943,500,000 3,170,000,000 2,990,000,000 What is the change in cash flow, in RMB, if the RMB appreciates to 6.5…arrow_forward
- Cornerstones of Cost Management (Cornerstones Ser...AccountingISBN:9781305970663Author:Don R. Hansen, Maryanne M. MowenPublisher:Cengage Learning
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