Financial markets around the world have become more accessible than ever before. And yet every country is different, with its own set of financial, accounting, legal and fiscal systems, and its own cultural norms. Can we use the same corporate finance concepts when we cross borders?

This course introduces students to corporate financial decision making in an international context. We will study the most important financial decisions the corporations make: capital structure, risk management, capital raising, mergers and acquisitions. These decisions will be embedded in a global setting with its own challenges of political and exchange rate risk and differing corporate governance standards. Along the way, students will learn about the legal framework of the firm as well as more technical aspects of valuation and risk management techniques.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to key concepts in international corporate finance and to enable them to formulate strategies in international finance and investment. As an introductory course, it is not necessary that students have a background in Finance. Expect this to be an interactive class: we will take the perspective of corporate financial managers and discuss actual case studies together. These are set around the world, with a focus on Asia: we will examine real decisions made in India, Russia, Venezuela, Japan, Vietnam, and China. In addition, students will formulate strategy recommendations for real companies, with the goal of developing real shareholder proposals.

Afternoon classes will be dedicated to deepen students’ understanding of the technical aspects of international corporate finance.

See student testimonial, Rishi Nagar

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About the Instructor

Dr Moqi Groen-Xu is an assistant professor in the Finance Department at the London School of Economics. Her research focuses on CEO contracts, compensation, shareholder activism, proxy voting, and investor relations. Dr Groen-Xu joined the LSE in 2011 with a PhD from INSEAD, France. Prior to her academic career, she worked as a consultant with McKinsey and Company, the global managment consultancy. Moqi tweets under @moqixu and blogs at www.moqixu.com.

Did you know...?

The LSE Department of Finance (formerly part of the Department of Accounting and Finance) has grown in recent years to become one of the largest and most highly-regarded finance groups in the UK and Europe. It is closely associated with the LSE's Financial Markets Group which regularly hosts a wide variety of seminars, conferences and public addresses by leading academics and practitioners.

With over 200 post-graduate students selected from a pool of top applicants world-wide, a faculty recruited from the top departments internationally, and a steady flow of distinguished visitors, we have a stimulating environment for research and learning that is on par with the best in the world.

The Department, along with the Departments of Accounting and Management, was ranked as the UK leader for Business and Management Studies in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework.

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