Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Paul W. Beamish, Jack Li, Nancy Wang, Steven Zuo. The Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy (referred as “Bundy Bap” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Global Business. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, International business, Joint ventures, Operations management, Organizational structure.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy Case Study

In early 1996, Phil Stephenson, the director of China for Bundy Asia Pacific (BAP), leaned back in front of his office window in Adelaide, Australia. He had been preoccupied with Bundy's business in China since his meeting that morning with BAP's CEO, Tony Martin. Martin had shown Phil the fax from Robin Thompson, the new marketing and product development director of Bundy International, BAP's U.K.-based parent company. Thompson had asked BAP about its strategy for the refrigeration business in China. Despite 10 years of experience in China, Bundy had not met its market goals. Whatever strategy was developed, it would be an important part of Bundy's proposed global refrigeration strategy. This is a rich case, with detailed discussion possible around issues including: 1) business (re)development strategy, 2) joint ventures versus wholly owned subsidiaries, 3) organizational structure, and 4) expatriate and local staffing.

Case Authors : Paul W. Beamish, Jack Li, Nancy Wang, Steven Zuo

Topic : Global Business

Related Areas : International business, Joint ventures, Operations management, Organizational structure

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021020)	-10021020	-	-
Year 1	3453239	-6567781	3453239	0.9434	3257773
Year 2	3971235	-2596546	7424474	0.89	3534385
Year 3	3965461	1368915	11389935	0.8396	3329478
Year 4	3245447	4614362	14635382	0.7921	2570698
TOTAL			14635382		12692333

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2671313

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Payback Period
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Bundy Bap shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Bundy Bap have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Global Business Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Bundy Bap often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Bundy Bap needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021020)	-10021020	-	-
Year 1	3453239	-6567781	3453239	0.8696	3002817
Year 2	3971235	-2596546	7424474	0.7561	3002824
Year 3	3965461	1368915	11389935	0.6575	2607355
Year 4	3245447	4614362	14635382	0.5718	1855595
TOTAL					10468591

The Net NPV after 4 years is 447571

(10468591 - 10021020 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10021020)	-10021020	-	-
Year 1	3453239	-6567781	3453239	0.8333	2877699
Year 2	3971235	-2596546	7424474	0.6944	2757802
Year 3	3965461	1368915	11389935	0.5787	2294827
Year 4	3245447	4614362	14635382	0.4823	1565127
TOTAL					9495455

The Net NPV after 4 years is -525565

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9495455 - 10021020 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Bundy Bap to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Bundy Bap has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Bundy Bap can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Bundy Bap, then the stock price of the Bundy Bap should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Bundy Bap should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy

References & Further Readings

Paul W. Beamish, Jack Li, Nancy Wang, Steven Zuo (2018), "Bundy Asia Pacific: China Strategy Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.