Question
Siam Cement, the Bangkok-based cement manufacturer, suffered enormous losses with the coming of the Asian crisis in 1997. The company had been pursuing a very
Siam Cement, the Bangkok-based cement manufacturer, suffered enormous losses with the coming of the Asian crisis in 1997. The company had been pursuing a very aggressive growth strategy in the mid-1990s, taking on massive quantities of foreign-currency-denominated debt (primarily U.S. dollars). When the Thai baht (B) was devalued from its pegged rate of B24.9/$ in July 1997, Siam's interest payments alone were over $900 million on its outstanding dollar debt (with an average interest rate of 7.75% on its U.S. dollar debt at that time). Assuming Siam Cement took out $ 48 million in debt in June 1997 at 7.75% interest, and had to repay it in one year when the spot exchange rate had stabilized at Upper B 42.1 divided by $, what was the foreign exchange loss incurred on the transaction
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