Measuring the amount invested in a foreign project, its resulting cash flows, and
the associated risk is difficult. The returns and NPVs of such investments can significantly
vary from the subsidiary’s and parent’s points of view. Therefore, several
factors that are unique to the international setting need to be examined when
one is making long-term investment decisions.
First, firms need to consider elements related to a parent company’s investment
in a subsidiary and the concept of taxes. For example, in the case of manufacturing
investments, questions may arise as to the value of the equipment a parent
may contribute to the subsidiary. Is the value based on market conditions in the
parent country or in the local host economy? In general, the market value in the
host country is the relevant “price.”
The existence of different taxes—as pointed out earlier—can complicate measurement
of the cash flows to be received by the parent because different definitions
of taxable income can arise. There are still other complications when it comes to
measuring the actual cash flows. From a parent firm’s viewpoint, the cash flows are
those that are repatriated from the subsidiary. In some countries, however, such
cash flows may be totally or partially blocked. Obviously, depending on the life of
the project in the host country, the returns and NPVs associated with such projects
can vary significantly from the subsidiary’s and the parent’s points of view. For
instance, for a project of only 5 years’ duration, if all yearly cash flows are blocked
by the host government, the subsidiary may show a “normal” or even superior
return and NPV, although the parent may show no return at all.