University of Technology, Sydney

Staff directory | Campus maps | Newsroom | What's on

25731 International Finance

UTS: Business: Finance and Economics
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level: Postgraduate

Result Type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 25742 Financial Management OR 25746 Financial Management: Concepts and Applications
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are also course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Handbook description

This subject examines foreign exchange markets, multinational working capital, international investments and the financing of international operations. Students learn how to understand how firms operate in the international financial environment.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

  1. understand the foreign exchange market and the terminology used
  2. understand the parity relationships between spot and forward exchange rates, interest rates and inflation rates
  3. evaluate international investment decisions to ascertain whether a foreign investment is viable
  4. analyse different ways of financing foreign operations through global capital markets like Euromarkets
  5. evaluate the implications of the interaction of political risk issues with foreign investment and financing decisions.

Contribution to graduate profile

International Finance seeks to extend the corporate finance framework. Consideration of foreign exchange markets and parity relationships forms a basis to subsequent subjects dealing in corporate treasury management and synthetic financial products. International investment and financing issues impact on investment management decisions and strategies.

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject will be taught using a combination of lectures and workshops. These classes will be supplemented with both printed and electronic learning materials and resources. The UTS web-based communication tool (UTS Online) will be used to share information and encourage interaction between staff and students. Students will also use appropriate computer software such as spreadsheets and word processors to complete assigned tasks.

Content

  • Introduction to international finance
  • Foreign exchange markets
  • Foreign exchange risk management
  • Multinational working capital management
  • Foreign investment analysis
  • Special financing vehicles — interest rate and currency swaps
  • Designing a global financing strategy.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: Two Quizzes (Individual)

Objective(s): 1-3
Weighting: 40%
Task: The quiz is designed to assess students' understanding of the theories and concepts to demonstrate that students have met objective 1-3.

Assessment item 2: Final Exam (Individual)

Objective(s): 1-5
Weighting: 60%
Task: This exam, consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions, will test students' understanding of the theory and their ability to apply the theory to financial management decisions. This will enable students to demonstrate that they have met objectives 1-5.

Required text(s)

Shapiro, AC, Multinational Financial Management, 8th ed., 2006, John Wiley & Sons, Inc (S)

Indicative references

Buckley, A., Multinational Finance, 5th ed., 2004, Prentice Hall

Eiteman, D.K., Stonehill, A.I., Moffett, M.H., Multinational Business Finance, 11th ed., 2007, Pearson Addison Wesley

Eun, C.S., Resnick, B.G., International Financial Management, 4th ed.,2007, McGraw Hill

Madura, J., Fox. R., International Financial Management, 2007, Thomson Publishing

Levi, M.D., International Finance, 5th ed., 2009, Routledge

Moosa, I.A., International Finance, 2nd ed., 2004, Irwin/McGraw Hill

Sathye, M, Rose,L, Allen, L, Weston, R, International Financial Management, 2006, John Wiley & Sons

Solnik, B., International Investments, 5th ed.,2004, Pearson Addison Wesley

Hardcopy resources provided to each student

  1. Lecture notes: These have been written by Andrew Simos and are a summary of the lecture topics. They aim to reduce the amount of time that students spend copying information from lectures in order to ensure that students listen and learn from lectures. They include exercises that will be undertaken during lectures. Fully worked out answers will only be supplied in lectures.
  2. Brief and extended answers to tutorial problems
  3. Sample quiz questions (and answers)
  4. Sample final exam (and answers)