They trade in various currencies/ if the currencies fluctuate they may lose lots of money because they calculate on an exchange rate and it varies!
Remember - they deal in millions at a time
Both domestic and multinational companies need to manage cash flow, profitability, and financial reporting. They also need to adhere to regulations and plan for taxes effectively. However, multinational companies have the added complexity of managing foreign exchange risk, differences in tax laws across jurisdictions, and cross-border transactions.
Companies enter the foreign exchange market to facilitate their regular transactions and or to speculate
The main differences between national and multinational companies are: Multinational companies do foreign investment; in contrast, national companies do not. Moreover, multinational companies can control the production in more than one region or country, but the national company does not control any other country.
Measures the risk in the Foreign exchange market. These changes often occur when there is unanticipated change in the exchange rate between two countries. Companies that are multinational often face this risk as they import and export goods.
Multinational companies play an important economic role in developing countries. One example is the ability of multinational companies to fill a country's trade gap by providing an influx of foreign capital.
short term finance long term finance foreign trad function
If you are going to a bank to exchange foreign money you will pay a small fee. Most companies that exchange foreign money will charge a small commission.
The primary reason companies would hedge foreign exchange risk is so that they do not lose money on capital or assets they have stored in different currencies.
As per ROC data of 2008 there are 916 foreign companies operating in India. 30% of the companies are from USA only.Cheers
Currency hedging is also known as foreign exchange hedging. It involves a method used by companies to eliminate risk resulting from foreign exchange transactions.
Foreign Exchange in BooksI cannot answer for all the books. But for the books that I have read so far, I can say that most books on finance will deal with some part of exchange rate impact on the finance for the firm. However if you would like a deeper analysis or resource on exchange rate, you should look for books that deal specifically with International Finance, Multinational Financial Management or International Financial Management. These books describe more on the the Multinational Company operating in various market, hence the core or main syllabus will be on exchange rates.
Eliahu Bartov has written: 'Exchange rate variability and the riskiness of U.S. multinational firms' -- subject(s): Foreign exchange rates, International business enterprises, Econometric models, Stocks