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CHAPTER ONE 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Globalization and economic liberalization have enabled the Indian software industry to grow exponentially at over fifty percent per year since 1991. From about USD hundred and fifty million in the early 1900s, the Indian software exports have crossed USD hundred billion dollar in the year 2013. It has been a remarkable success story. The success of Indian software industry can be attributed to low cost advantage, large pool of talented and english speaking professionals, and the high quality service offerings. The origins of the Indian software industry dates back to 1970 with the entry of TCS into the domain of outsourced application migration work. According to Mr. Ramadorai, it began in early seventies’ with the main frame manufacturer, Burroughs asking its Indian sales agent TCS, to export programmers for installing system software for a US client. The Indian software industry has successfully faced and overcome many challenges during its brief history and today it is faced with quite a few headwinds that threaten its pace of growth and its move towards the USD two hundred billion plus exports goal it has set for itself for the year 2020. The Indian software industry has not only been among the fastest growing industries globally, it has played a key role in transforming India from a largely inward looking economy to an emerging knowledge power that is today perceived as being one of the more dynamic and entrepreneurial in the world. The growth in Indian software industry has been spurred mainly by the growth in export market demand. The export market is concentrated in the US and Europe. Almost two-thirds of the software revenue of Indian companies accrues from export sales in the US market. 1 The rise of the software and services industry during the 1990s represents one of the most spectacular achievements of the Indian economy. The industry has grown at an incredible rate of fifty percent per annum over the past few years, is highly export oriented, has established India as an exporter of knowledge intensive services, and has brought in a number of other spillover benefits such as creating employment and a new pool of entrepreneurship. (Kumar, 2001). In 1991, the Indian software industry was modest in size, employing twelve thousand persons, and contributing an insignificant part of GDP. Between 2000 and 2004, it had emerged as the largest incremental contributor to GDP, with six percent coming from this sector. Over ninety-five percent of the absolute growth in foreign exchange inflows in the service sector during this period is estimated to have come from the software and BPO industries alone. In the financial year 2009, as a proportion of national GDP, the Indian software industry revenues have grown from mere one percent in financial year 1998 to an estimated six percent and software services accounted for over ninety nine percent of the total exports, reached USD forty seven billion and employed over one and half million professionals. Moreover, compared to 2009 in the financial year 2012, as a proportion of national GDP, the Indian software sector revenues have grown to an estimated seven and half percent and its share of total Indian exports reached to about twenty five percent. The Indian software industry expects to contribute about seven percent to annual GDP and create around fourteen million employment opportunities both directly and indirectly by Financial Year 2015 and expects to cross USD two hundred and twenty five billion revenues by 2020. The software service exports were fastest growing at over nineteen percent compared to financial year 2011 with export revenue of USD forty billion, accounting for fifty eight percent of total exports. India continues to be the nerve-centre for global sourcing with over two-third of the Fortune 500 and a majority of Global 2000 firms leveraging global service delivery – now sourcing 2 from India. The US and the UK remain the largest export markets (accounting for about sixty one percent and eighteen percent respectively, in 2007) the industry footprint is steadily expanding. Strong fundamentals of a large talent pool, sustained cost competitiveness and an enabling business environment have helped establish India as the preferred sourcing destination. (NASSCOM, 2008). The industry has played a significant role in transforming India’s image from a slow moving bureaucratic economy to a land of innovative entrepreneurs and a global player in providing world class technology solutions and business services. The industry has helped India transform from a rural and agricultural based economy to a knowledge based economy. The information technology-BPO industry in India has today become a growth engine for the economy, contributing substantially to the GDP, urban employment and exports and to achieve the vision of the “Young and Re-silent” India. With a young demographic profile, where over three and half million graduates and post-graduates are added annually to the talent base, no other country offers a mix and scale of human resources. India enjoys a cost advantage of around sixty to seventy percent as compared to source markets. (NASSCOM, 2009). The Indian software industry has captured a significant portion of the world trade in software services and it acts as complementary to the US software industry which accounts for nearly sixty percent of Indian software services exports. Studies conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute and other research outfits have also shown that moving “white collar” service work to countries with low labor costs such as India can be a win-win for both US and India. Furthermore, establishment of STPs stands out a seminal policy action, specifically targeted towards encouraging, promoting and boosting the export of software and services from India. Indian companies are now trying to adopt a culture that encourages innovation, embrace new trends such as Green IT, and deliver solutions that are focused on re-engineering and transformation. 3 The growth rate of the Indian software industry has been substantially higher than the global software industry. India is the only one country in the world to register a growth rate of around fifty percent in the software industry (Kumar, 2001). The Phenomenal growth of Indian software industry can be attributed to various steps taken by the Government of India to boost software exports such as simplifying procedures, tax concessions, establishment of Software Technology Parks (STPs), establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), more liberal foreign investment policies, availability of second largest pool of English speaking technically competent manpower, proactive role of NASSCOM, locational time difference with the Western part of the world enabling round the clock development. Indian IT industry has built-up a reputation for innovation in service delivery and superior quality management through internationally accepted methodologies such as CMMi and Six Sigma. Indian software is extremely of good quality with relatively low cost. As of December 2003, India has sixty five Software Engineering Institute, Capability Maturity Model (SEI CMM) Level 5 software firms. Over half of the world’s CMM Level 5 software firms are in India (Bhatnagar, 2001). Indian software industry which has been largely export oriented, became sufficiently global in its outlook. More than two hundred Indian software companies have set up more than five hundred overseas subsidiaries or offices, of which around three hundred are in North America, hundred in Europe and close to hundred in Asia excluding India. The export-oriented Indian software industry earns nearly two-third of its revenues through software exports. Since India does not have a high domestic market, most of the growth involves export to US and European countries. India exports software and services to more than one hundred countries and over half of Fortune 500 companies outsource their software requirements from India. Nearly fifty-six percent of total Indian software services are exported to North America, thirty-one percent of software services are exported to European 4 Union countries and the remaining thirteen percent are exported to Middle-East and Asian Countries. Proportion of Indian Software Exports Others 21% UK 18% Source:NASSCOM USA 61% Figure 1.1.1 The aftermath of financial crisis of 1991 had led to the devaluation of Indian currency and forcing the government of India to switch towards managed floating exchange rate system. Under managed float system the currency is allowed to move freely in response to market forces which increases the volatility of exchange rate, which consequently will have an adverse impact on the revenues of Indian software companies which are primarily exportoriented. Indian software industry earns more than seventy five percent of revenues from exports. This kind of business model, where the majority of revenues comes from exports, exposes businesses to risks involved with foreign trade. After 1993, the Indian rupee has been fluctuating a lot vis-à-vis dollar. Since more than seventy percent of exports are made to North-America, the profitability of Indian software companies depends largely on the movement of INR-USD exchange rate. 5 Moreover, the integration of Indian financial markets with global financial markets has increased the volatility of exchange rates, consequently increasing the concerns of corporate sector particularly export oriented companies. According to Infosys Chairman Mr. N R Narayana Murthy, for every one percent movement in the INR against the USD has an impact of approximately fifty basis points on operating margins of a software company. 1.2 Justification of the Study In view of globalization trends, a booming economy and the emergence of India as an Information Technology hub, the Indian software industry seems to be the fastest growing sector in the country over the last decade. In India, a large number of software companies are small and medium sized and these companies play a significant role in driving the Indian software industry to new heights by sustaining the current growth. According to NASSCOM, Indian small and medium software companies have the potential to compete in the global arena and to play a significant role in promoting both regional and national economic development. Software Technology Parks of India had also played a developmental role in the promotion of software exports with a special focus on small and medium companies and startups. Today, more than eighty percent software technology park of India member units are small and medium companies. However, the small and medium software companies have been facing problems of volatile exchange rates, lack of means and information to hedge export risks, lack of market intelligence, and lack of skill and technical expertise in handing foreign exchange risk. There is much scope for public policy to support small and medium companies, efforts to build competitiveness, in terms of developing technical and marketing skills and fostering technological and innovative capabilities. 6 Although many studies have been made on the foreign exchange risk management practices of large US, UK, German, Belgian, Sweden, Canadian, Malaysian, Korean, New Zealand, Jordanian, Lithuanian and Australian non-financial firms. Almost, all of these studies were conducted on large companies from diversified industries. However, there are a very few studies conducted in India, and these studies have negligible representation of software companies in their sample. A study by Debashish 2008, conducted an industry wide cross sectional study on foreign exchange risk management practices and derivative usage by large non-banking Indian firms. In general, the available literature on the foreign exchange risk management practices of software companies does not give a precise and uniform picture. This is partly because the earlier studies have not adequately represented the software companies in the sample. Moreover, the issue of the relationship among the Indian software exports, US economic activity and INR-USD exchange rate volatility was not specifically addressed in any of the earlier studies. Therefore, the current state of knowledge about the foreign exchange risk management practices of software companies and the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity and INR-USD exchange rate volatility warrants further investigation, and it was against this background that the present study was undertaken. 1.3 Statement of the Problem In India over eighty percent of information technology companies are small and medium enterprises. A small and medium Indian software company would have a turnover, less than INR 1000 million and staff strength of less than 500 people. The contribution of Indian software exports to GDP has increased over the past years but SME’s share in the entire information technology export in India is only thirty percent. The looming problems of SMEs are Indian rupee appreciating, lack of means and information to hedge export risks, lack of market intelligence, lack of financial patronage etc., (Upadhyay, 2007). 7 In International trade foreign exchange rates are key factors. Recent global economic scenario has had an adverse impact on USD which was the dominating currency till recently. Aftermath of failure of large investment banks such as Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has led to the weakening of the USD against most other currencies including the rupee. This has affected India’s software companies, because more than sixty percent of their revenues come from North America and about ninety percent of Indian software exports are invoiced in US dollars. Consequently operating margins of software companies have been hit hard with adverse impact on their value. The competitive environment is such that the foreign exchange rate volatility needs to be monitored and managed. Thus, volatility can have profound effects on software companies earnings and consequently on their value. The Indian rupee has been a market determined exchange rate since 1993 onwards. The Indian rupee fluctuates a lot with global currencies such as US dollar, Euro, Pound, etc., the volatile nature of Indian rupee exposes the Indian Software companies to foreign exchange risk. Since India exports a significant percent of its software exports to US, fluctuations of INR against USD will have an adverse impact on the revenues of the Indian software companies and it requires a strong strategy to handle such foreign exchange rate risks. The INR has been fluctuating sharply against USD. In the year 2009-10, INR appreciated by about ten percent against the USD and about three percent against the JPY, whereas it depreciated by about six percent against GBP and around three percent against the EUR. The INR has been largely volatile since January 2009, trading in a wide range between 44.37 and 68.36 at the end of August, 2013. This kind of change will have a huge impact on business and it requires a strong strategy to handle such exchange rate risks. 8 INR-USD Exchange Rate Volatility 0.12 0.1 0.08 0.06 0.04 0.02 Source: RBI 2012Q4 2012Q1 2011Q2 2010Q3 2009Q4 2009Q1 2008Q2 2007Q3 2006Q4 2006Q1 2005Q2 2004Q3 2003Q4 2003Q1 2002Q2 2001Q3 2000Q4 2000Q1 0 Figure 1.3.1 Indian Software Exports USD Mn Source: RBI 2012Q4 2012Q1 2011Q2 2010Q3 2009Q4 2009Q1 2008Q2 2007Q3 2006Q4 2006Q1 2005Q2 2004Q3 2003Q4 2003Q1 2002Q2 2001Q3 2000Q4 2000Q1 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Figure 1.3.2 According to NASSCOM, small and medium software companies have the potential to compete in the global arena and to play a significant role in promoting both regional and national economic development. From the figures 1.3.1 and 1.3.2, both the INR-USD exchange volatility and the Indian software exports have been increasing since 2000. 9 Thus, there is a need to study and understand the foreign exchange risk management practices of software companies and also to examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. Moreover, this study aims at providing adequate information concerning the foreign exchange risk management practices of software companies and also the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity and INR-USD exchange rate volatility to the management, potential investors, risk management practitioners, and policy makers. 1.4 Research Questions The central focus of this research is to study and understand objectively the foreign exchange risk management practices of selected software companies, as well as to examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity, and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. In particular the study answers the following research questions: What types of exposures are identified and managed by these software companies? What is the primary objective of managing foreign exchange risk? What kind of policy is adopted towards foreign exchange risk? Do these firms have documented foreign exchange risk policy? How frequently do they revise their documented foreign exchange risk policy? What kind of control is followed by these companies and what is the degree of control? What techniques and instruments are used to manage foreign exchange exposure? What factors influence the choice of usage of these techniques or instruments? Whether there exists any relationship between Indian software exports and US economic activity? and What is the impact of INR-USD exchange rate volatility on Indian software exports? 10 1.5 Objectives of the Study 1.5.1 General Objective The major objective of this thesis has been to describe the foreign exchange risk management practices of selected software companies. In this respect the study has provided objective evidence on what kind of relationships exist between the firm characteristic variables (type of the firm, form of ownership, firm size and degree of foreign involvement) and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables (foreign exchange risk identification, policy and management variables). In addition, the study also attempted to examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity, and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. 1.5.2 Specific Objectives This study, Foreign Exchange Risk – An Empirical Study of Software Companies has the following specific objectives: To describe the foreign exchange risk management practices of selected software companies. To examine the association between type of the firm and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables. To examine the association between form of ownership and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables. To examine the association between firm size and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables. To examine the association between firm’s degree of foreign involvement and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables. To examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity, and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. 11 1.6 Hypotheses of the Study For their currency risk management decisions, firms with significant exchange rate exposure often need to establish an operational framework of best practices (Jacque, 1996). In existing risk management literature, a firm’s exposure to a risk factor is generally considered to be a function of the firm’s own characteristics and its own decision to hedge. To put it differently, a firm’s foreign exchange risk is determined by its involvement in foreign trade, its decision to engage in financial or operational hedges, and the financial constraints faced by the firm (Bartov and Bodnar, (1994), He and Ng (1998)). This argument ignited an idea in the researcher’s mind to test the association between firm characteristic variables and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables. Thus, the following hypothesis has been framed: H1: Firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables are independent of firm characteristic variables. Indian software industry is primarily export oriented, which earns nearly two-third of its revenues comes through Software exports. Since India does not have a high domestic market, most of the growth involves export to US and European countries. India exports software and services to more than one hundred countries and over half of Fortune 500 companies outsource their software requirements from India. Nearly sixty percent of total Indian software services are exported to North America. According to NASSCOM, the Indian IT has hit revenues of USD 108 billion in financial year 2013 with exports contributing USD seventy six billion. During the period 2007-13, around sixty-two percent of export revenues have come from Unites States of America. Indian software services sector fortune looks strong amid improvement in global economies such as US, UK and Europe along with the huge fall in the home currency. Improvement in the consumer confidence and real economic conditions in the developed nations is expected 12 to give good growth kick to the emerging nations in terms of higher exports including higher IT spends. The spending on the technology and the related services on the worldwide basis was close to USD two trillion in year 2012, a growth of about five per cent over the previous year. Out of the total expenditure, nearly USD one trillion was spent on software industry. In the previous earnings season, the managements of the Indian big software giants were found to be more confident for the days to come. NASSCOM expects the Indian information technology sector to grow at a rate of twelve to fourteen percent in revenues in dollar terms to USD eighty five to eighty seven billion in the fiscal year ending 2014. According to the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council, Software services exports are expected to grow by just ten per cent to around USD seventy five billion during the current fiscal (2012-13) as demand from the US, India's largest market, slows. In 2012-13, India’s software and services exports grew by eighteen percent to USD about sixty eight billion with the US as the top destination, accounting for about USD forty billion or fifty eight percent of the total exports. (Deccan Herald, March 21st, 2013). A number of studies have argued that exchange rate volatility would impose costs on risk averse market participants, who will generally respond by favoring domestic to foreign trade. This argument views traders as bearing undiversified exchange rate, if hedging is impossible or costly and traders are risk-averse, risk adjusted expected profits from trade will fall when exchange rate increases. (Chowdhury, 1993). Moreover, there exists conflicting evidence in the literature about the relationship between exchange rate volatility and trade flows. The above mentioned facts have developed interest to examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity, and INRUSD exchange rate volatility. Therefore, the following hypotheses have been developed: H2: There exists no significant statistical relationship among Indian Software Exports, US economic activity, and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. 13 1.7 Significance of the Study As discussed in the background and statement of the problem sections, the success and growth of software companies has a paramount importance in the development endeavor of Indian economy. Most of the research studies in the area of corporate foreign exchange risk management practices have done outside India and these studies have presented contradictory results. In India a few studies have been conducted but the representation of software companies in the sample was limited to two to five large software companies. The approach of large software companies towards foreign exchange risk management would be entirely different from the small and medium software companies. Moreover, these large companies have dedicated department to take care of treasury related activities and also have sound technical expertise to monitor and manage foreign exchange risk, whereas small and medium software companies do not have required expertise and skill to monitor and manage the foreign exchange risk. In line with the above facts, it is hoped that the results of this study would: Provide relevant information to the policy-makers about the foreign exchange risk management practices currently being followed by software companies in order to cope with foreign exchange risk. Inform the management of the sample companies about effectiveness of foreign exchange risk management practices followed by them. The findings of this research work will be expected to tackle the problems that are faced by software companies. Suggest possible recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the foreign exchange risk management practices followed by selected software companies. Finally, by virtue of the above facts, the results of the study are hoped to serve as a base for further researchers that enable a sustained operation. 14 1.8 Scope of the Study This research has been confined to describe the foreign exchange risk management practices of selected software companies which have registered office in Hyderabad and to examine the association between firm characteristic variables and firm’s foreign exchange risk management practice variables. In addition, efforts have been made to examine the relationship among the Indian software exports, US economic activity, and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. To meet the objectives sought, the study has been undertaken based on the secondary data collected from RBI and BEA for the period of 2000-01 Ist Quarter to 2012-13 IVth Quarter and the primary data was collected from the executives of the sample firms. Nonetheless, it would have been much better and exhaustive for the study had there been a chance for considering all the software companies established in the Southern Region of India. However, to make the study manageable and to evaluate the problem in depth, the researcher was forced to delimit the study to incorporate only thirty-eight companies that have registered office in Hyderabad. The software companies included in the study were enlisted in the ACE-Equity database and have registered office in Hyderabad. 1.9 Structure of the Thesis The thesis has been devoted to describe the foreign exchange risk management practices of selected software companies. Accordingly, sample companies foreign exchange risk management practices have been evaluated with descriptive analysis, frequency tables, crosstabulation tests, chi-square tests, and pie-charts. Furthermore, the study also aimed to examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity and INRUSD exchange rate volatility. Therefore, Cointegration analysis as suggested by EngleGranger was used. 15 The thesis is structured so that the information presented to the reader is arranged in a logical sequence. The contents of the thesis, therefore, are presented in the following manner: CHAPTER I – Introduction: deals about general background of the thesis. It gives the reader general information about the research work, reason for initiating the study, justification of the study, statement of the problem and research questions, objectives of the study, hypotheses of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study and finally, how the whole research work is organized. CHAPTER II – Theoretical Background: This chapter reviews the theoretical underpinnings related to the study. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with the fundamental principles of the Foreign Exchange Risk (Definition, types, etc.,) and recent developments around the subject. CHAPTER III – Empirical Evidence: This chapter presents the available empirical evidences regarding the corporate foreign exchange risk management practices and also the relationship among exports, income or growth, and exchange rate volatility. CHAPTER IV – Research Design and Methodology: The purpose of this chapter is to explain the different methodologies adopted while conducting the study, specifically, this section presents a brief description of quantitative research methods and the justification behind applying quantitative research methods in the study. Furthermore, the chapter includes descriptive statements about the logic behind using different methods of data collection, sampling techniques, and data analysis techniques adopted in this study. CHAPTER V – Foreign exchange risk management practices of select software companies: The purpose of this chapter is to describe the foreign exchange risk management practices of selected software companies and to examine the association between firm characteristic variables such as type of the firm, form of ownership, firm size, and degree of foreign involvement and firms’ foreign exchange risk management practice variables such as foreign exchange risk identification, policy, and management variables. 16 CHAPTER VI – Indian Software Industry and Foreign Exchange Risk: This chapter presents a brief overview of Indian software industry and Indian foreign exchange market and also presents the results of the analysis carried out to examine the relationship among Indian software exports, US economic activity, and INR-USD exchange rate volatility. CHAPTER VII – Summary of major findings, conclusions and recommendations: This chapter presents summary of the major findings, conclusions drawn from the study, and provide possible suggestions regarding future improvements in the foreign exchange risk management practices along with areas where further research may be conducted. 17