<p>Country portfolio analysis, a commonly used tool among companies when evaluating potential target markets, only focus on potential sales instead of including cost and risk into the equation. However, some researchers today have become aware of the importance of taking these costs and risks into account. One of these researchers is Pankaj Ghemawat, who has developed a framework called CAGE which is supposed to be a complementary tool to the country portfolio analysis model. In this thesis we study if Swedish MNCs consider the factors suggested in the CAGE-framework when evaluating emerging markets. Furthermore, we suggest some adjustments to the evaluation process.</p><p>Data have been collected through a web-based questionnaire. The respondents were all headquarter managers in Swedish multinational corporations (MNCs). Our results show that the two most overlooked distances of the CAGE-framework are the cultural and the geographic distances. Hence, the two most considered were the economic and administrative distances. This is in partial accordance with Ghemawat’s theory, in which he states that the cultural distance is one of the two most overlooked distances. However, he presents administrative distance as the second most overlooked distance, which means that our thesis shows a somewhat different result than Ghemawat’s findings.</p><p>A company evaluating an entry into an emerging market needs to consider the CPA-model, but this is not enough. They also need to take other factors into account. These are previous as well as future growth of the market, predicted growth for the specific product or service in the market in question, and the competitive situation in the emerging market. A consideration of these factors gives the company a complete picture of a market regarding profit potential. Thereafter, this potential needs to be adjusted for the distances in the CAGE-framework.</p>

Country portfolio analysis, a commonly used tool among companies when evaluating potential target markets, only focus on potential sales instead of including cost and risk into the equation. However, some researchers today have become aware of the importance of taking these costs and risks into account. One of these researchers is Pankaj Ghemawat, who has developed a framework called CAGE which is supposed to be a complementary tool to the country portfolio analysis model. In this thesis we study if Swedish MNCs consider the factors suggested in the CAGE-framework when evaluating emerging markets. Furthermore, we suggest some adjustments to the evaluation process. Data have been collected through a web-based questionnaire. The respondents were all headquarter managers in Swedish multinational corporations (MNCs). Our results show that the two most overlooked distances of the CAGE-framework are the cultural and the geographic distances. Hence, the two most considered were the economic and administrative distances. This is in partial accordance with Ghemawat’s theory, in which he states that the cultural distance is one of the two most overlooked distances. However, he presents administrative distance as the second most overlooked distance, which means that our thesis shows a somewhat different result than Ghemawat’s findings. A company evaluating an entry into an emerging market needs to consider the CPA-model, but this is not enough. They also need to take other factors into account. These are previous as well as future growth of the market, predicted growth for the specific product or service in the market in question, and the competitive situation in the emerging market. A consideration of these factors gives the company a complete picture of a market regarding profit potential. Thereafter, this potential needs to be adjusted for the distances in the CAGE-framework.

The aim of the thesis is to use the SWOT analysis to identify threats and opportunities of the selected company on the market with regards to its strenghts and weaknesses, or a proposal to remove or eliminate the weaknesses.

To mitigate climate change, the transition to a low-carbon economy is imperative. Even though this transition poses unprecedented economic and social risks, academic research regarding the impacts of such risks on the financial sector is limited. This thesis develops an integrated analytical framework to quantify the transition risks of equity portfolios. The aim is to improve the scientific understanding of transition risk modelling and to enable a forward-looking risk analysis in investment management. Transition risks are analyzed with a scenario-based approach. Three transition scenarios that stretch until 2025 and 2030 are constructed. For each scenario, three risk variables are designed: a global carbon tax, a change in the share of renewables in electricity generation, and a change in fossil fuel production. A transition-adjusted dis-counted cash flow (TA-DCF) model is developed to estimate the financial impacts of those risks. Furthermore, a method to model company-specific transition capacity is applied. The findings of the study suggest limited total transition impacts on the portfolio level until 2030. The analysis of a diversified global equity index discovers losses of -2.95% of the total market value in the most ambitious transi-tion scenario. Transition risks become more apparent on the sector and individual company level. The thesis finds that three sectors, Energy, Utilities and Materials, are highly exposed to transition risks. In addition, the TA-DCF model enables the identification of companies that are expected to lose of most of their value due to transition risks as well as companies that leverage the emerging opportunities. The developed framework can be applied in portfolio management and portfolio construction to incorporate tran-sition risks into decision-making processes in financial risk management. Several use cases, i.e. the development of a low transition risk benchmark, are discussed.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) require electricity providers to supply a minimum fixed percentage or total quantity of customer load from designated renewable energy resources by a given date. These policies have become increasingly prevalent in the past decade as state governments seek to increase the use of renewable energy sources. As a policy tool, RPS provide a cost-effective, market-based approach for meeting targets which promote greater use of renewable energy in both regulated and deregulated markets. To facilitate the obtainment of Renewable Portfolio Standards, most states allow the trading of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). RECs represent the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation which are decoupled from the generated power. These credits are created along with the generation of renewable energy, decoupled from energy generation, tracked by regional systems, and eventually purchased by retail suppliers to fulfill their RPS obligations. As of April 2010, RPS have been passed into law in 29 states and Washington D.C. and an additional 6 states have non-mandatory renewable portfolio goals however the U.S. government has yet to enact a Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard. Although the final requirements and details of a Federal RPS are undecided, federal standards would be unlikely to preempt or override state programs which are already in place. A key concern regarding the passage of a federal RPS is that a national REC market would result in a shift of wealth from states with few renewable energy resources and limited resource potential to regions richer in renewable resources. Because of the implications that a federal renewable portfolio standard would have on the economy, the environment, and the equitable treatment of all the states, many issues and concerns must be resolved before federal standards will be passed into law. A theoretical case study for an electric utility generation planning decision that includes obligations to meet Renewable Portfolio Standard is presented here. A framework is provided that allows decision makers and strategic planning teams to: assess their business situation, identify objectives of generation planning, determine the relative weights of the objectives, recognize tradeoffs, and create an efficient portfolio using Portfolio Theory. The case study follows the business situation for Austin Energy as it seeks to meet Texas State RPS and mandates set by Austin City Council and prepares for potential National RPS legislation. / text

This Master's Thesis aims to assess overall financial health of the company Silektro s.r.o. and makro and micro surroundings components influence to its business. Firstly, theoretical basis and selected procedures are described. In practical part, individual methods combining internal and external analyses are applied. The key methods of this thesis are financial analysis, PEST analysis and Porter's Competitive Forces Model. The last used method is synthesis by SWOT. The required outcome is to evaluate analyses used and assessment of the overall business situation in reference period.

O conjunto de leis, decretos e instrumentos regulatórios que regem o setor elétrico a partir da virada deste século é bastante complexo. Em paralelo, o desafio constante da expansão da oferta de energia elétrica para o atendimento da demanda sempre crescente de um país em desenvolvimento como o Brasil requer análise profunda de seu arranjo institucional. Adicionalmente, a expansão da oferta também depende do desenvolvimento de ferramentas para melhorar a gestão dos ativos de geração de energia elétrica que irão atender esse desafio. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho se propõe a fazer um mapeamento dos principais componentes de incerteza e risco associados à geração de energia elétrica no Brasil sob o ponto de vista regulatório. Analisa, assim, o modelo em vigor desde a promulgação da Lei 10.848 de 2004, o qual promove a competição entre fontes de energia de natureza complementar, mas com características distintas. No percurso deste estudo são discutidos instrumentos para avaliar o arranjo das unidades de geração em um portfolio de ativos de fontes diversas, bem como seus principais componentes e, em que medida, a regulação em vigor favorece a sinergia entre as diferentes fontes de geração elétrica. Na medida em que este arranjo setorial se baseia na contratação de energia elétrica de longo prazo, os resultados deste trabalho indicam que a sinergia desejada entre as fontes de geração de energia elétrica fica restrita apenas ao mercado de curto prazo, extremamente volátil, conquanto poderia ser aproveitada no desenho de um portfolio mais eficiente, tanto para o país quanto para os investidores em geração. / The set of laws, decrees and regulatory instruments leading the electricity sector in the new century is quite complex in Brazil. In parallel, the constant challenge of expanding the supply of energy to meet the ever increasing demand of a developing country requires a deep analysis of this institutional configuration designed to simplify the understanding of the sector major issues and improve the management assets to generate electricity that will meet this challenge. This work intends to map the key uncertainty and risk components associated with power generation in Brazil under the regulatory perspective. To do so, it analyzes the model in place since the enactment of Law #10,848 in 2004 which promotes the competition among energy sources with different characteristics. In the course of the text here presented it is conducted a discussion about the tools designed to evaluate the selection of power plants in a portfolio of assets from different energy sources, analyzing its main components, and the synergy level among these different sources. Additionally, it is also addressed the regulatory environment and its implications for the power industry in Brazil. Through this study it was found that the extent to which this regulatory arrangement is based on long term power purchase agreements, the desired synergy between sources of power generation is restricted to the highly volatile spot market, although it could be used in designing a more efficient portfolio, both for the country and for investors in generation.

When society fails to effectively integrate natural and constructed environments, one of the cataclysmic byproducts of this disconnect is an increased risk of natural disasters. On top of the devastation that is the aftermath of such disasters, poor planning and engineering decisions have detrimental effects on communities as they attempt to recover and rebuild. While there is an inherent difficulty in the quantification of the cost of human life, interruption in business operations, and damage to the properties, it is critical to develop plans and mitigation strategies to promote fast recovery. Traditionally insurance and reinsurance products have been used as a mitigation strategy for financing post-disaster recovery. However, there are number of problems associated with these models such as lack of liquidity, defaults, long litigation process, etc. In light of these problems, new Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) methods are introduced. The pricing of these risk mitigating instruments, however, has been mostly associated with the hazard frequency and intensity; and little recognition is made of the riskiness of the structure to be indemnified. This study proposes valuation models for catastrophe-linked ART products and insurance contracts in which the risks and value can be linked to the characteristics of the insured portfolio of constructed assets. The results show that the supply side ? structural parameters are as important as the demand ? hazard frequency, and are in a highly nonlinear relationship with financial parameters such as risk premiums and spreads.

O conjunto de leis, decretos e instrumentos regulatórios que regem o setor elétrico a partir da virada deste século é bastante complexo. Em paralelo, o desafio constante da expansão da oferta de energia elétrica para o atendimento da demanda sempre crescente de um país em desenvolvimento como o Brasil requer análise profunda de seu arranjo institucional. Adicionalmente, a expansão da oferta também depende do desenvolvimento de ferramentas para melhorar a gestão dos ativos de geração de energia elétrica que irão atender esse desafio. Neste contexto, o presente trabalho se propõe a fazer um mapeamento dos principais componentes de incerteza e risco associados à geração de energia elétrica no Brasil sob o ponto de vista regulatório. Analisa, assim, o modelo em vigor desde a promulgação da Lei 10.848 de 2004, o qual promove a competição entre fontes de energia de natureza complementar, mas com características distintas. No percurso deste estudo são discutidos instrumentos para avaliar o arranjo das unidades de geração em um portfolio de ativos de fontes diversas, bem como seus principais componentes e, em que medida, a regulação em vigor favorece a sinergia entre as diferentes fontes de geração elétrica. Na medida em que este arranjo setorial se baseia na contratação de energia elétrica de longo prazo, os resultados deste trabalho indicam que a sinergia desejada entre as fontes de geração de energia elétrica fica restrita apenas ao mercado de curto prazo, extremamente volátil, conquanto poderia ser aproveitada no desenho de um portfolio mais eficiente, tanto para o país quanto para os investidores em geração. / The set of laws, decrees and regulatory instruments leading the electricity sector in the new century is quite complex in Brazil. In parallel, the constant challenge of expanding the supply of energy to meet the ever increasing demand of a developing country requires a deep analysis of this institutional configuration designed to simplify the understanding of the sector major issues and improve the management assets to generate electricity that will meet this challenge. This work intends to map the key uncertainty and risk components associated with power generation in Brazil under the regulatory perspective. To do so, it analyzes the model in place since the enactment of Law #10,848 in 2004 which promotes the competition among energy sources with different characteristics. In the course of the text here presented it is conducted a discussion about the tools designed to evaluate the selection of power plants in a portfolio of assets from different energy sources, analyzing its main components, and the synergy level among these different sources. Additionally, it is also addressed the regulatory environment and its implications for the power industry in Brazil. Through this study it was found that the extent to which this regulatory arrangement is based on long term power purchase agreements, the desired synergy between sources of power generation is restricted to the highly volatile spot market, although it could be used in designing a more efficient portfolio, both for the country and for investors in generation.

This Master’s thesis evaluates the survey that mapped using management tools in contemporary practice. Respondents were senior and middle management of companies from the Czech Republic. They had to answer what they expect from the tools and what they think about the various claims concerning the parameters of the attractiveness of the market and competition. The survey was focused on portfolio analysis.