MANM376 International Finance Project Assignment: Critical Analysis of Tata Steel, Godrej Properties, and LVMH’s Strategic Financial Decisions

MANM376 : International Finance Project Assessment requirements and questions 2024/25

Requirements:

The assessment is designed to test your ability to conduct and report an independent study, applying the principles and methods learned in the Applied Cases in International Finance module. You must submit an individual project report via the submission folder on SurreyLearn. Details on how to submit can be found on SurreyLearn.

You have been provided with three international finance-related projects. You can choose one, analyse it using the questions provided in this document, and submit a project report. Alternatively, you can identify a topic area of your interest and select an international finance-related case that you wish to develop further.[1] Please note that it is crucial to apply financial principles when analysing the project. Please refer to the report rubrics for the grading guide and criteria.

Project questions

Project 1: Evaluating Tata Steel’s capital structure decision

Please critically analyse the project and include the answer to this main question:

• How to determine the optimal capital structure for Tata Steel? What is the interaction between its cost of capital, capital structure, and business strategy?

The following sub-questions may help you answer the above main question:

• Discuss the company background and analyse the financial performance of Tata Steel over the last few years
• Identify and analyse the key factors involved in assessing the optimal financial leverage
• Evaluate the potential strategies for reducing financial leverage
• Explore the relationship between capital structure and the overall business strategy for Tata Steel

Project 2: Assessing Godrej Properties’ dividend policy

Please critically analyse the project and include the answer to this main question:

• Was Godrej Properties’ dividend policy change rational? What next steps should the company take?

The following sub-questions may help you answer the above main question:

• Identify and analyse the major challenges faced by the Indian real estate market during 2018-19
• Assess the rationality of the dividend policy change outlined in the case
• Evaluate the value implications of Godrej Properties’ no-dividend policy during the period of structural market change
• Formulate a recommendation on whether Godrej Properties should maintain its no-dividend policy

Project 3: Analysing LVMH’s bid for Tiffany & Co.

Please critically analyse the project and include the answer to this main question:

• Should LVMH acquire Tiffany? Is the deal good for Tiffany?

The following sub-questions may help you answer the above main question:

• Compare the business models and strategic positioning of LVMH and Tiffany
• Assess the potential benefits and risks of the acquisition for LVMH and Tiffany
• Examine the possible future development paths for LVMH and Tiffany following the acquisition
• Calculate the intrinsic value of Tiffany and evaluate the fairness of the acquisition offer

Remember that all questions in the projects can be open to some extent, i.e., there are no correct/model answers. Your analysis is more important than your answer to a specific question. In your analysis, the logical arguments should be coherent. Please focus your analysis on the main question. The sub-questions are provided to help you analyse the project better. You do not need to limit yourself to answering the given sub-questions. Please feel free to use any resources/questions you think will help analyse the project better.

Each project should have the following structure:

1. Title: Clearly state the title of the project along with your student code
2. Executive summary: Provide a concise overview of the report content, highlighting key findings and conclusions
3. Introduction: Describe the project under investigation, highlight the aspects you consider most important, and briefly address the main question
4. Main analysis: Develop and present your analysis supported by coherent and logical arguments
5. Conclusion: Summarise the core elements of your analysis and offer informed recommendations for future consideration
6. References: Use the Harvard referencing style to cite references
7. Appendices: Include any supplementary materials if applicable
8. Please attach the completed and signed Secondary Data Checklist – the checklist can be accessed at https://my.surrey.ac.uk/research/ethics

Late submission

Please reserve enough time for your submission. Late submission will be penalised. Penalties are applied after the assessed work is marked. The mark recorded for assessed work submitted from 4:01pm on the fifth day after the deadline (120 hours), or not submitted at all, is zero and will not be marked.

Please refer to https://exams.surrey.ac.uk/assessments for more details.

Academic misconduct

Academic misconduct includes acts or omissions by a student that have the potential to give an unfair advantage in assessments.

This includes things like:

• Plagiarism includes inserting words from the work of someone else without acknowledging that it was their work, representing someone else’s work as your own, acquiring work to pass off as your own and assuming the identity of another student to mislead or deceive.
• Failing to declare that a third party has helped in the presentation of your assessed work.
• Getting help from third parties in relation to proofreading and correcting English or a target language, where the learning outcomes include a specific requirement to demonstrate ability in written English or a target language.
• Fabricating results from laboratory or other work or misrepresenting data.
• Passing off work as original that has already been assessed whether by the University or another institution and whether in a different module or programme (also known as self-plagiarism).
• Contract plagiarism – paying someone/service to write an assignment (could lead to a student being expelled from the University).
• Collusion – two or more students work together on an assignment, which is to be assessed on an individual basis.

For further information, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/office-student-complaints-appeals-and-regulation/academic-misconduct.

Generative AI

We are aware that there is a high-profile discussion on the use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, and you may have already heard of or have even used them in your learning and assessments. Please be aware that the unethical and irresponsible use of such tools in your assessments could risk breaching the University regulations and be identified as academic misconduct. The information the generative AI tools present is not always trustworthy or accurate. Therefore, critically evaluating the information you have retrieved from such tools is very important in your assessments. To maintain academic integrity, please make sure that you always submit your own work based on your own learning with appropriate referencing where necessary.

Please familiarise yourself with the university’s regulations and guidance from My Learning and Development at Surrey module in SL and My Surrey webpages (especially academic life)

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