Hermosa Beach Components, Inc., of California exports 24,000 sets of low-density light bulbs per year to Argentina under an import license that expires in five years. In Argentina the bulbs are sold for the Argentine peso equivalent of $60 per set. Direct manufacturing costs in the United States and shipping together amount to $40 per set. The market for this type of bulb in Argentina is stable, neither growing nor shrinking, and Hermosa holds the major portion of the market.

The Argentine government has invited Hermosa to open a manufacturing plant so imported bulbs can be replaced by local production. If Hermosa makes the investment, it will operate the plant for five years and then sell the building and equipment to Argentine investors at net book value at the time of sale plus the value of any net working capital. (Net working capital is the amount of current assets less any portion financed by local debt.) Hermosa will be allowed to repatriate all net income and depreciation funds to the United States each year. Hermosa traditionally evaluates all foreign investments in U.S. dollar terms.

Evaluate the proposed investment in Argentina by Hermosa Components (US). Hermosa's management wishes the baseline analysis to be performed in U.S. dollars (and implicitly also assumes the exchange rate remains fixed throughout the life of the project). Create a project viewpoint capital budget and a parent viewpoint capital budget. What do you conclude from your analysis?