WHC will need to purchase additional necessary equipment, which will cost $77 million. To get the equipment in running order, there would be a $2 million shipping fee and a $3 million installation charge. The equipment will be depreciated to zero on a straight-line basis over its economic life of 15 years. The contract runs for only eight years. At that time the coal from the site will be entirely mined. The company feels that the equipment can be sold for 10 percent of its initial purchase price in eight years.

Instead of purchasing the equipment, your team, being experienced consultants, wishes to propose to WHC that they have another option which is leasing it. Coincidently, your other client, Resolute Leasing Limited (RLL), may be a suitable lessor. On discussions, the executives at RLL have asked you to prepare a lease quotation that could be forwarded to WHC for consideration.

For the purpose, RLL has provided the following information: RLL can get a 20% discount on the purchase price of the machinery.

They expect the life of the machinery to be 15 years with a salvage value of $5 million after that. WHC may use this machinery for eight years, and RLL is confident that it can be leased to others after that.

RLL uses the straight-line method for calculating depreciation.

As the owner of the machinery, RLL is responsible for its annual maintenance cost.

RLLs effective tax rate is 10%

(i) If the RLLs after-tax required rate of return is 10% per annum, what will be the minimum annual lease payment that RLL would charge? Consider that RLL requires lease payments to be made annually in advance. (8 marks).

(ii) Calculate the maximum annual lease payment that would make leasing a viable option for WHC?