International Finance: Theory into Practice

by Piet Sercu

Overview

International Finance presents the corporate uses of international financial markets to upper undergraduate and graduate students of business finance and financial economics. Combining practical knowledge, up-to-date theories, and real-world applications, this textbook explores issues of valuation, funding, and risk management. International Finance shows how theoretical applications can be brought into managerial practice.


The text includes an extensive introduction followed by three main sections: currency markets; exchange risk, exposure, and risk management; and long-term international funding and direct investment. Each section begins with a short case study, and each of the sections' chapters concludes with a CFO summary, examining how a hypothetical chief financial officer might apply topics to a managerial setting. The book also contains end-of-chapter questions to help students grasp the material presented.


Focusing on international markets and multinational corporate finance, International Finance is the go-to resource for students seeking a complete understanding of the field.

• Rigorous focus on international financial markets and corporate finance concepts
• An up-to-date and practice-oriented approach
• Strong real-world examples and applications
• Comprehensive look at valuation, funding, and risk management
• Introductory case studies and "CFO summaries," and end-of-chapter quiz questions
• Solutions to the quiz questions are available online

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691136677
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	03/22/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	832
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

Piet Sercu is professor of international finance at the Catholic University of Leuven. He is the coauthor, with Raman Uppal, of International Financial Markets and the Firm.

Table of Contents

Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiv

Part I: Introduction and Motivation for International Finance 1
Chapter 1: Why Does the Existence of Borders Matter for Finance? 3
1.1 Key Issues in International Business Finance 4
1.2 What Is on the International CFO's Desk? 11
1.3 Overview of this Book 13

Chapter 2: International Finance: Institutional Background 16
2.1 Money and Banking: A Brief Review 16
2.2 The International Payment Mechanism 28
2.3 International ("Euro") Money and Bond Markets 33
2.4 What Is the Balance of Payments? 35
2.5 Exchange-Rate Regimes 45
Test Your Understanding 58

Part II: Currency Markets 63
About This Part 65
Chapter 3: Spot Markets for Foreign Currency 69
3.1 Exchange Rates 69
3.2 Major Markets for Foreign Exchange 78
3.3 The Law of One Price for Spot Exchange Quotes 87
3.4 Translating FC Figures: Nominal Rates, PPP Rates, and Deviations from PPP 97
3.5 CFO's Summary 108
3.6 Technical Notes 110
Test Your Understanding 110

Chapter 4: Understanding Forward Exchange Rates for Currency 115
4.1 Introduction to Forward Contracts 115
4.2 The Relation between Exchange and Money Markets 119
4.3 The Law of One Price and Covered Interest Parity 123
4.4 The Market Value of an Outstanding Forward Contract 130
4.5 CFO's Summary 140
4.6 Appendix: Interest Rates, Returns, and Bond Yields 141
4.7 Appendix: The Forward Forward and the Forward Rate Agreement 145
Test Your Understanding 154

Chapter 5: Using Forwards for International Financial Management 157
5.1 Practical Aspects of Forwards in Real-World Markets 157
5.2 Using Forward Contracts (1): Arbitrage 161
5.3 Using Forward Contracts (2): Hedging Contractual Exposure 164
5.4 Using Forward Contracts (3): Speculation 172
5.5 Using Forward Contracts (4): Minimizing the Impact of Market Part Imperfections 177
5.6 Using the Forward Rate in Commercial, Financial, and Accounting Decisions 190
5.7 CFO's Summary 194
Test Your Understanding 198

Chapter 6: The Market for Currency Futures 202
6.1 Handling Default Risk in Forward Markets: Old and New Tricks 202
6.2 How Futures Contracts Differ from Forward Markets 207
6.3 Effect of Marking to Market on Futures Prices 215
6.4 Hedging with Futures Contracts 218
6.5 The CFO's Conclusion: Pros and Cons of Futures Contracts Relative to Forward Contracts 226
6.6 Appendix: Eurocurrency Futures Contracts 227
6.7 Technical Notes 232
Test Your Understanding 234

Chapter 7: Markets for Currency Swaps 239
7.1 How the Modern Swap Came About 240
7.2 The Fixed-for-Fixed Currency Swaps 244
7.3 Interest-Rate Swaps 252
7.4 Cross-Currency Swaps 256
7.5 CFO's Summary 258
7.6 Technical Notes 259
Test Your Understanding 259

Chapter 8: Currency Options (1): Concepts and Uses 262
8.1 An Introduction to Currency Options 262
8.2 Institutional Aspects of Options Markets 269
8.3 An Aside: Futures-Style Options on Futures 272
8.4 Using Options (1): Arbitrage 275
8.5 Using Options (2): Hedging 281
8.6 Using Options (3): Speculation 288
8.7 CFO's Summary 291
Test Your Understanding 294

Chapter 9: Currency Options (2): Hedging and Valuation 299
9.1 The Logic of Binomial Option Pricing: One-Period Problems 300
9.2 Notation and Assumptions for the Multiperiod Binomial Model 306
9.3 Stepwise Multiperiod Binomial Option Pricing 312
9.4 Toward Black-Merton-Scholes (European Options) 319
9.5 CFO's Summary 323
9.6 Technical Notes 325
Test Your Understanding 331

Part III: Exchange Risk, Exposure, and Risk Management 337
About This Part 339
Chapter 10: Do We Know What Makes Forex Markets Tick? 342
10.1 The Behavior of Spot Exchange Rates 344
10.2 The PPP Theory and the Behavior of the Real Exchange Rate 358
10.3 Exchange Rates and Economic Policy Fundamentals 373
10.4 Conclusion 384
10.5 Technical Notes 385

Chapter 11: Do Forex Markets Themselves See What Is Coming? 398
11.1 The Forward Rate as a Black-Box Predictor 398
11.2 Forecasts by Specialists 418
11.3 CFO's Summary 423
Test Your Understanding 428

Chapter 12: (When) Should a Firm Hedge Its Exchange Risk? 434
12.1 The Effect of Corporate Hedging May Not Just Be "Additive" 435
12.2 FAQs about Hedging 443
12.3 CFO's Summary 448
Test Your Understanding 449

Chapter 13: Measuring Exposure to Exchange Rates 454
13.1 The Concepts of Risk and Exposure: A Brief Survey 455
13.2 Contractual-Exposure Hedging and Its Limits 457
13.3 Measuring and Hedging of Operating Exposure 461
13.4 Accounting Exposure 474
Test Your Understanding 487

Chapter 14: Value-at-Risk: Quantifying Overall Net Market Risks 493
14.1 Risk Budgeting: A Factor-Based, Linear Approach 494
14.2 The Linear/Normal VaR Model: Potential Flaws and Corrections 502
14.3 Historical Backtesting, Bootstrapping, Monte Carlo, and Stress Testing 515
14.4 CFO's Summary 520
14.5 Epilogue: The Credit Crunch Blues 524
Test Your Understanding 528

Chapter 15: Managing Credit Risk in International Trade 530
15.1 Payment Modes without Bank Participation 531
15.2 Documentary Payment Modes with Bank Participation 536
15.3 Other Standard Ways of Coping with Default Risk 542
15.4 CFO's Summary 545
Test Your Understanding 546

Part IV: Long-Term International Funding and Direct Investment 551
About This Part 553
Chapter 16: International Fixed-Income Markets 558
16.1 "Euro" Deposits and Loans 559
16.2 International Bond and Commercial-Paper Markets 572
16.3 How to Weigh Your Borrowing Alternatives 581
16.4 CFO's Summary 590
Test Your Understanding 592

Chapter 17: Segmentation and Integration in the World's Stock Exchanges 595
17.1 Background Information on International Stock Markets 599
17.2 Why Don't Exchanges Simply Merge? 618
17.3 Can Unification Be Achieved by a Winner Taking All? 625
17.4 CFO's Summary 638
Test Your Understanding 639

Chapter 18: Why—or When—Should We Cross List Our Shares? 641
18.1 Why Might Companies Want to List Shares Abroad? 642
18.2 Shareholders’ Likely Reaction to Diversification Opportunities 646
18.3 Sifting through the Empirics on Cross-Listing Effects 651
18.4 CFO's Summary 660
Test Your Understanding 662

Chapter 19: Setting the Cost of International Capital 663
19.1 The Link between Capital-Market Segmentation and the Sequencing of Discounting and Translation 666
19.2 The Single-Country CAPM 669
19.3 The International CAPM 680
19.4 The CFO's Summary re Capital Budgeting 690
19.5 Technical Notes 693
Test Your Understanding 696

Chapter 20: International Taxation of Foreign Investments 703
20.1 Forms of Foreign Activity 703
20.2 Multiple Taxation versus Tax Neutrality 709
20.3 International Taxation of a Branch (1): The Credit System 712
20.4 International Taxation of a Branch (2): The Exclusion System 718
20.5 Remittances from a Subsidiary: An Overview 721
20.6 International Taxation of a Subsidiary (1): The Credit System 724
20.7 International Taxation of a Subsidiary (2): The Exclusion System 730
20.8 CFO's Summary 732
Test Your Understanding 733

Chapter 21: Putting It All Together: International Capital Budgeting 739
21.1 Domestic Capital Budgeting: A Quick Review 739
21.2 InNPV Issue #1: How to Deal with the Implications of Nonequity Financing 751
21.3 InNPV Issue #2: How to Deal with Exchange Rates 758
21.4 InNPV Issue #3: How to Deal with Political Risks 760
21.5 Issue #4: Make Sure to Include All Incremental Cash Flows 765
21.6 Other Things to Do in Spreadsheets While You're There 766
21.7 CFO's Summary 768
21.8 Technical Notes 770
Test Your Understanding 773

Chapter 22: Negotiating a Joint-Venture Contract: The NPV Perspective 777
22.1 The Three-Step Approach to Joint-Venture Capital Budgeting 779
22.2 A Framework for Profit Sharing 781
22.3 Case I: A Simple Pro-Rata Joint Branch with Neutral Taxes and Part Integrated Capital Markets 782
22.4 Case II: Valuing a Pro-Rata Joint Branch when Taxes Differ 784
22.5 Case III: An Unbundled Joint Venture with a License Contract or a Management Contract 786
22.6 CFO's Summary and Extensions 793
Test Your Understanding 797

Further Reading 801
References 803
Part Index 813

What People are Saying About This

G. Andrew Karolyi

Analytical and rigorous, International Finance presents fresh data, cohesively organized chapters, and timely issues.
— G. Andrew Karolyi, Ohio State University

Ian Cooper

This book combines a rigor and practicality that few leading finance textbooks achieve. Once you have read it you will understand what matters in international finance, what does not, and how to deal with both.
— Ian Cooper, London Business School

Philippe Jorion

This will become a classic of international finance.
— Philippe Jorion, University of California, Irvine

Lewis

This accessible and important book provides a big picture for corporate finance within the context of the international financial markets.
— Karen K. Lewis, University of Pennsylvania

Suleyman Basak

This textbook employs modern finance in an international setting, all presented in the clearest, most stimulating way. In addition to each chapter being accompanied by a set of exercises, each part of the textbook is also nicely complemented by a case study. Comprehensive and up to date, the book covers everything from forward exchange rates, exchange risks, costs of international capital, and international taxation, to cross listings, swaps, and values at risk. There is no doubt this is the premier textbook for international finance.
— Suleyman Basak, London Business School

Bernard Dumas

I cannot think of a more comprehensive and more operationally relevant textbook than this one. Having read it, a student or practitioner is ready for operational work and duly prepared to avoid all the conceptual pitfalls commonly encountered on the international side of finance.
— Bernard Dumas, University of Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute

Cheol Eun

Piet Sercu's tour de force provides the most comprehensive treatment of major issues in international finance among all the books in the field. The author defines the key issues up front, tackles them in a coherent and focused manner, and strikes the right balance between basic concepts and practical applications. Readers can feel the pulse of world financial markets from the author's lively explanations of market mechanisms and conventions. Clear, entertaining, and up-to-date, this book sets a high standard for the study of international finance.
— Cheol Eun, Georgia Institute of Technology

From the Publisher

"This will become a classic of international finance."—Philippe Jorion, University of California, Irvine

"This book combines a rigor and practicality that few leading finance textbooks achieve. Once you have read it you will understand what matters in international finance, what does not, and how to deal with both."—Ian Cooper, London Business School

"I cannot think of a more comprehensive and more operationally relevant textbook than this one. Having read it, a student or practitioner is ready for operational work and duly prepared to avoid all the conceptual pitfalls commonly encountered on the international side of finance."—Bernard Dumas, University of Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute

"This textbook employs modern finance in an international setting, all presented in the clearest, most stimulating way. In addition to each chapter being accompanied by a set of exercises, each part of the textbook is also nicely complemented by a case study. Comprehensive and up to date, the book covers everything from forward exchange rates, exchange risks, costs of international capital, and international taxation, to cross listings, swaps, and values at risk. There is no doubt this is the premier textbook for international finance."—Suleyman Basak, London Business School

"Piet Sercu's tour de force provides the most comprehensive treatment of major issues in international finance among all the books in the field. The author defines the key issues up front, tackles them in a coherent and focused manner, and strikes the right balance between basic concepts and practical applications. Readers can feel the pulse of world financial markets from the author's lively explanations of market mechanisms and conventions. Clear, entertaining, and up-to-date, this book sets a high standard for the study of international finance."—Cheol Eun, Georgia Institute of Technology

"Analytical and rigorous, International Finance presents fresh data, cohesively organized chapters, and timely issues."—G. Andrew Karolyi, Ohio State University

"This accessible and important book provides a big picture for corporate finance within the context of the international financial markets."—Karen K. Lewis, University of Pennsylvania

Editorial Reviews

"[This] is the most comprehensive textbook on the financing, transactional, and risk management side of international trade and investment currently available. . . . Compared to many other textbooks, this one excels at focusing on the topic at hand and not merely providing a corporate or derivative textbook with some international flavor added. The book provides more than ample material for courses on financial markets and business finance."—-Evert Wipplinger, Financial Markets and Portfolio Management

From the Publisher

[This] is the most comprehensive textbook on the financing, transactional, and risk management side of international trade and investment currently available. . . . Compared to many other textbooks, this one excels at focusing on the topic at hand and not merely providing a corporate or derivative textbook with some international flavor added. The book provides more than ample material for courses on financial markets and business finance.

Financial Markets and Portfolio Management - Evert Wipplinger

[This] is the most comprehensive textbook on the financing, transactional, and risk management side of international trade and investment currently available. . . . Compared to many other textbooks, this one excels at focusing on the topic at hand and not merely providing a corporate or derivative textbook with some international flavor added. The book provides more than ample material for courses on financial markets and business finance.
— Evert Wipplinger

Financial Markets and Portfolio Management