Faculty of Business Administration
Foreign Exchange volatility: Group hedging theory and Lebanese SMEs
A Thesis
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Business Administration
By
George Issa
June 2014
FOREIGN EXCHANGE VOLATILITY: GROUP HEDGING THEORY
AND LEBANESE SMEs
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Business Administration
By: George Issa
APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:
------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Paul Abboud, Ph.D., Chairperson
------------------------------- ------------------------------------Denny Rumamby, Ph.D., Second Reader
------------------------------- ------------------------------------Patrizia Hongisto, Ph.D., Faculty Dean
Date approved
-----------------------------
I
Dedication
To everyone who will make use of my research.
To everyone who will enjoy reading every page!
To mom and dad and my lovely sisters.
To the memory of my uncle.
II
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my university’s higher management represented by our kind Dean of Business Dr. Patrizia Hongisto.
A feel of gratitude remains to my thesis mentor, Dr. Paul Abboud who gave me the helping hand to come up with this final thesis. Big thanks to my second reader, Dr. Denny Rumambi for his fruitful comments.
Thanks extended to my bosses at the Lebanese Armed Forces for the opportunity they granted me to follow the MBA program at MEU.
To my family and friends whom they missed my presence during the long hours spent preparing for this thesis: Please understand me, I love you all.
I am thankful to everyone who responded to my survey questions and that I might have bothered with my calls to get the required information that helped the success of this research.
III
Abstract
Foreign Exchange volatility has become a major obstacle for international
traders.
References: Drabek, Z. & Brada, J. (1998) Exchange Rate regimes and the stability of trade policy in transition Economies http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596798915578 Fama, Eugene (1965) Random Walks in Stock Market prices Gilani, Shah (2010, September 29) Exchange-Rate risk: the unseen enemy of US investors Luoma, Sonja (2010) Option hedging with transaction costs. Sweden: Lund University Marchich, M., Assy, S Miller, Edward (2011, October 6) Bankster speculation in Ag commodities plunges millions into hunger http://foodfreedom.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/bankster-speculation-in-agcommodities-plunges-millions-into-hunger/ Morin, Monica (2014) Can financial risk management help prevent bankruptcy? Montreal: Journal of Finance and Accountancy Neaimy, Viviane (2012) Stress tests and Var analysis in the process of risk Pierce, Robert (2007) Risk management for food manufacturers and processors. Retrieved from http://www.signaldemand.com/resources/documents/SignalDemandRiskManagement.pdf Saleem, Qamar (2014) Overcoming Constraints to SME Development in MENA Sapkale, Yogesh (2012, March 20) Will Zenith Info-tech be wound up due to FCCB defaults? Retrieved from http://www.moneylife.in/article/will-zenith-infotech-bewound-up-due-to-fccb-defaults/24392.html Toussaint, Eric (2014, March 13) Comment les grandes banques manipulent le marché des devises Vyas, Jwalit (2010, September 15) FMCG industry: Rising Ad spend, competition to hit margins (2013, December 7) European Trade highly welcomes WTO deal on trade facilitation: Business worldwide is the winner Beirut Traders Association- BankMed Investment Index. (2013) Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.bankmed.com.lb/ BLOM BANK AND THE BEIRUT TRADERS ASSOCIATION LAUNCH THE BEIRUT TRADERS SHOPPING CARD WITH MASTERCARD (2013) Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.blombank.com/english/PR-BTA-Oct2013 Futures basis organization while preserving its core values. (n.d.) Retrieved December 16, 2013, from http://www.obegigroup.com/history.html