English   Danish

2019/2020  KAN-CCMVI2046U  Graduate International Finance

English Title
Graduate International Finance

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Max. participants 80
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Thomas Lindner - Department of Finance (FI)
For academic questions related to the course, please contact instructor Thomas Lindner at tli.acc@cbs.dk
Main academic disciplines
  • Corporate governance
  • Finance
  • Globalisation and international business
Teaching methods
  • Online teaching
Last updated on 16-04-2020

Relevant links
Learning objectives
This course prepares students for careers in international companies. Students learn:
  • to read and understand academic research in the fields of international strategy and finance
  • to critically assess theory based on the information content in hypotheses derived from them
  • basic data analysis skills in Excel and/or R
  • how to evaluate projects in foreign countries
  • how to manage exposure to country risk
  • how to design international corporate structure to maximize firm value
  • what challenges firms face when issuing capital abroad
  • what the options and their consequences for international investment are
  • how firms can finance foreign expansion
  • how to manage exposure to currency risk
  • how internationalization strategy and finance are related
Course prerequisites
Fundamentals of Finance, Fundamentals of Mathematics, BSc degree (or equivalent), Fundamentals of empirical research methods
Examination
Graduate International Finance:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Home assignment - written product
Individual or group exam Individual exam
Size of written product Please see text below
4 hour home assignment. No requirement for maximum number of pages.
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
Grading scale 7-point grading scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer, Ordinary exam: 4 hour home assignment in the period of 27–31 July 2020
Retake exam: 4 hour home assignment in the period of 28 September–2 October 2020
3rd attempt (2nd retake) exam: 72-hour home assignment- 23-26 November 2020 – for all ISUP courses simultaneously

Exam schedules available on https:/​/​www.cbs.dk/​uddannelse/​international-summer-university-programme-isup/​courses-and-exams
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Retake exam: 4 hour home assignment, new exam question
Exam form for 3rd attempt (2nd retake): 72-hour home project assignment, max. 10 pages.
Course content, structure and pedagogical approach

This course introduces students to the challenges and opportunities firms face in international financial markets. It starts out with an introduction into theory and empirical methods that are commonly used in the academic treatment of international finance. Then, the course investigates how firms can manage exposure to different forms of risk resulting from international operations. First, we look into currency markets and develop tools firms can use to manage exposure to several currencies. We also look into opportunities this provides for the diversification of risk and how exposure to foreign currencies has consequences for firm strategy. Second, we investigate how firms can navigate different tax and institutional regimes to optimize capital structure and the allocation of profits to business units. Third, we look at the integration of capital markets and challenges firm face when issuing securities abroad. Finally, the course covers means of valuing and managing investments in foreign currencies. Taken together, the course is designed to prepare students to answer questions about strategic implications of internationalization using tools based on financial analysis. Instruction materials, cases, and academic articles are combined to deliver a research element and an element of practical application in the course.
 

 

Preliminary assignment: Pre-class reading of academic article (Agmon, 2006)
 
Class 1: Introduction to international finance and country risk
Class 2: International capital budgeting
 
Class 3: Case study (Global capital budgeting at AES) session 1
 
Class 4: Case study (Global capital budgeting at AES) session 2
 
Class 5: Case study (Global capital budgeting at AES) presentation and discussion
 
Class 6: Hedging foreign exchange exposure
 
Feedback activity: Mock exam and discussion of answers
 
Class 7: Taxes and capital structure in the multinational firm
 
Class 8: International capital issues and capital markets
 
Class 9: Real options, joint ventures, and international M&A
 
Class 10: Project finance
 
Class 11: Course wrap-up and exam preparation
Description of the teaching methods
This year all courses are taught digitally over the Internet. Instructors will apply a mixture of direct teaching through a live link (like Skype, Team, Zoom…) and indirect, where visual pre-recorded material is uploaded on Canvas. The instructor will inform participants about the precise format on Canvas.
Feedback during the teaching period
The feedback activity in class 6-7 represents a mock exam that will (1) prepare students for the type of exam they can expect, (2) give them an opportunity to identify their progress on the first half of the content covered, and (3) allow them to ask questions about the content covered in the first half of the course.
Student workload
Preliminary assignment 20 hours
Classroom attendance 33 hours
Preparation 126 hours
Feedback activity 7 hours
Examination 20 hours
Further Information

Preliminary Assignment: To help students get maximum value from ISUP courses, instructors provide a reading or a small number of readings or video clips to be read or viewed before the start of classes with a related task scheduled for class 1 in order to 'jump-start' the learning process.

 

Course timetable is available on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams

 

We reserve the right to cancel the course if we do not get enough applications. This will be communicated on https://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/international-summer-university-programme-isup/courses-and-exams end March 2020.

 

 
Expected literature

Mandatory readings:

 

Case: Globalizing the Cost of Capital and Capital Budgeting at AES (HBS case: https:/​/​hbsp.harvard.edu/​product/​204109-PDF-ENG?itemFindingMethod=Search).
 
Papers:
Roth, K., & Kostova, T. (2003). The use of the multinational corporation as a research context. Journal of management, 29(6), 883-902.
Agmon, T. (2006). Bringing financial economics into international business research: Taking advantage of a paradigm change. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(5), 575-577.
Blass, A., & Yafeh, Y. (2001). Vagabond shoes longing to stray: Why foreign firms list in the United States. Journal of Banking & Finance, 25(3), 555-572.
Kardes, I., Ozturk, A., Cavusgil, S. T., & Cavusgil, E. (2013). Managing global megaprojects: Complexity and risk management. International Business Review, 22(6), 905-917.

 

Additional relevant readings: 

 

Chapters 17, 18, and 22 in Sercu, P. (2009). International finance: Theory into practice. Princeton University Press.
 
Chapters 19-25 in Buckley, A. (2012). Multinational finance. Pearson Education.
 
Chapters 2-6,12, 14-16 in Butler, K. C. (2016). Multinational Finance: Evaluating the Opportunities, Costs, and Risks of Multinational Operations. John Wiley & Sons.
 
Chapters 1, and 2 in Gatti, S. (2012). Project finance in theory and practice: designing, structuring, and financing private and public projects. Academic Press.
Last updated on 16-04-2020