Registration ends 07.4.2026 at 23:59 h

This course introduces the fundamentals of international financial management, exploring issues that multinational firms face and how they make international financial decisions. From an investor’s perspective, currencies as well as international equity and bond markets represent opportunities that complement domestic investments. The focus is on concepts in financial decision making with an emphasis on both theoretical foundations and practical applications. The aim of the course is to provide students with solid knowledge about international finance, enabling them to understand and evaluate financial decisions in an international context.

Course content:

Block 1: Foreign Exchange Market and Risks
- FX Market Structure, Forward Markets, and Exchange Rate Systems
- International Parity Conditions
- Exchange Rate Determination, Transaction Risk, and Forecasting Exchange Rates

Block 2: International Capital Markets & Investments
- International Debt Markets
- International Equity Markets and International Diversification
Foreign Currency Options

Block 3: International Corporate Finance
- International Capital Budgeting
- Risk Management

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

- Understand the international financial environment, international financial markets and its relevant players, different currency regimes, and how they affect multinational corporations.
- Understand the important mechanisms on the foreign exchange market and to discuss the relationships between inflation, interest rates, and (real) exchange rates using the international parity conditions and related theories.
- Understand exchange rate determination, exchange rate risk, and how multinationals can forecast exchange rate movements and manage their FX exposure.
- Understand the construction principles of currency derivates and the fundamentals of currency option pricing.
Understand the benefits and costs of international diversification and explain how to evaluate foreign investment projects.
- Understand capital raising opportunities for corporations in international financial markets and make informed capital budgeting decisions.

Further information on teaching evaluation: https://www.leuphana.de/en/teaching/quality-management/evaluation/course-evaluation.html