- 20 Marks
FM – MAY 2016 – L2 – Q5 – Foreign exchange risk and currency risk management | Hedging with options
Discuss differences between forward and futures contracts, types of currency risk exposure, disadvantages of hedging with futures, and reasons for differences in interest rates across different maturities.
Question
a) AD Ventures imports tomato paste from Italy for sale in Ghana. AD Ventures typically buys the tomato paste on an open account and pays the euro invoice value two months after receipt of goods. AD Ventures has suffered heavy exchange rate losses of late due to the continuous depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against the euro. AD Ventures will receive a consignment of tomato paste on 15th May 2016. The value of this consignment is EUR540,000, which must be settled in two months’ time (settlement deadline being 15th July 2016).
The current spot exchange rate for the euro is GH¢4.7110/EUR. Financial pundits forecast that the Ghanaian cedi will depreciate against the euro in the coming months. The owner-manager of AD Venture, Akua Donkor, is worried about the probable foreign exchange loss her business may suffer when the invoice value is settled in two months’ time.
Akua Donkor has heard of the possibility of hedging AD Ventures’ currency exposure with a forward contract or futures contract but does not know what these contracts are. She has asked you to advise her on what to do to hedge against the underlying exposure relating to the EUR540,000 tomato paste consignment.
You would like to recommend a futures market hedge to Akua Donkor. You searched the derivatives market; and you found a futures contract on the euro that matures in August 2016. Other relevant details of the contract follow:
- Contract size: EUR100,000
- Futures contract price: GH¢4.8112/EUR
Required:
i) Explain to Akua Donkor FOUR differences between a forward contract and a futures contract. (4 marks)
ii) Currency risk exposure may be transaction risk, economic risk, or translation risk. Which of the three kinds of currency risk exposure is AD Ventures facing in relation to the EUR540,000 tomato paste consignment? Explain why. (4 marks)
iii) Explain to Akua Donkor THREE disadvantages of hedging the euro exposure with a futures hedge. (6 marks)
b) It has been observed that interest rates on debt securities or loans differ for different maturities. For the week ending 28th August 2015, the annual interest rate on the 1-year Government of Ghana note was 22.5% whereas the annual interest rate on the 2-year note was 23%.
Required:
With THREE reasons, explain why interest rates on debt securities and loans are different for different maturity periods. (6 marks)
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