Honda to collaborate with GM on self-driving service in Japan (The Japan Times, 20 Jan 2021) Honda Motor Co. said Wednesday it will collaborate with General Motors Co. and its unit Cruise LLC on launching a service using self-driving vehicles in Japan and start feasibility tests later this year. Automakers are scrambling to develop next-generation autonomous vehicles, with IT firms also joining the race. Honda and major U.S. carmaker GM agreed in 2018 to join hands in developing self-driving vehicles. Honda said it plans to start a mobility business using the Cruise Origin, a self-driving vehicle being developed by the three companies, with an eye to offering new transportation solutions in a potential collaboration with local governments in Japan. Honda and Cruise will start conducting experiments in Japan using Cruises test vehicle this year, Honda said. Cruise and GM said Tuesday they would partner with Microsoft Corp. to accelerate the commercialization of driverless vehicles. Tesla, Samsung Expected to Partner on Self-Driving 5nm Chip (EnterpriseAI News, 28 Jan 2021) Samsung Electronics is said to be partnering with electric vehicle leader Tesla on a leading-edge 5-nanometer chip design that would serve as the core of an emerging self-driving car capability.. A partnership with Tesla would allow Samsung to ramp production of bleeding-edge 5nm chips based on its extreme ultraviolet process technology, boosting wafer yields as fabrication scales.. The advanced chips would reportedly support Teslas 4D sensing capabilities underpinning its autopilot and full self-driving (FSD) sensor suite. Among the components is a millimetre-wave radar. According to Electrek.com, Tesla recently filed an application with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to use the new radar in future versions of its electric vehicles.. Those self-driving features would require predictive analytics and inference capabilities that would presumably be handled by the new Samsung processor. The 5-nm device would also manage a range of vehicle components, including displays and memory. Similarly, the additional performance gains would support future 6G wireless networks that, among other capabilities, would allow vehicle-to-vehicle and roadside communications.

Question 1 (20 marks) Suppose the financial manager of Honda Motor suggests either issuing bonds or shares to raise capital for the development of the self-driving car. Assuming there is no fees or costs for the securities. i. Compare and contrast the differences between common stock, preferred stock and corporate bonds from the perspective of the issuing companies and investors. (8 marks) ii. Suppose Honda Motor plans to issue bonds with $10,000 par value, 15 years of the term to maturity, 12% coupon to be paid quarterly, investors require 8% of return on the bond with similar risk. Calculate the price of the bonds. Will the bond sell at par, discount or premium? Explain. (6 marks) iii. If Honda Motor wants to issue 20-year zero-coupon bonds in order to raise fund for development, suppose the par value of a 20-year zero-coupon bond is $15,000, what is the price of the bonds if the required rate of return is 8%? Would it be worth investing if the price of the bond is $3,000? Explain. (6 marks)