6. Long-term Financing Decisions
MNCs may choose to issue bonds in the international bond markets. They may be able to attract a stronger demand by issuing their bonds in a particular foreign country. They may attempt to finance projects in a foreign currency with a lower interest rate.
A Thai company may need long-term funds to support its business. It could issue 10-year bonds in yen with a 1% coupon rate, which is 5 percentage points less than the prevailing coupon rate on Thai bonds. However, there will be a need to convert Thai baht to make the coupon or principal payments on the yen bond, so if the yen rises in value, the yen bond could be more costly than the Thai bond. The decision to issue the yen bonds will depend on the forecast of the yen’s exchange rate over 10-year period