COURSE WORK 1 – INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC REPORT
EXPANDED GUIDELINES AND SCENARIO:
A. Assessment type: Individual Academic Report (see below for detail).
The format for the individual academic report should be critical and analytical
and must be based on the scenario presented below.
B. Background information and scenario:
You are a foreign national residing in Switzerland. You possess a “C” type
work permit, which allows you to invest and engage in various entrepreneurial
activities in Switzerland.
Given your trustworthy and overall successful track record in managing
private portfolios as a freelance investor, you have been addressed by yet
another foreign client:
A wealthy individual, from South East Asia, who we shall refer to as Mr. Kim
for confidentiality reasons, deposited an amount of CHF 1’000’000.00 in a
Swiss Bank of your choice at 0.5 % yearly interest.
Given the relative stability and safety of Swiss banking structure, the
individual in question knows the placement is safe. Also, given the current
negative rate of inflation in Switzerland of almost -1% for the year 2015, the
0.5 % interest rate implies a low degree of positive returns.
Mr. Kim* possesses a well-diversified investment portfolio and 1’000’000.00
represents mere 2 % of the individual’s worth, which goes as follows:
Total portfolio (for your information): CHF 50M.
– Construction and development of small luxury resorts, SE Asia: 20M
– Construction, sales and mgmt. of time share apartments, SE Asia: 10M
– Carbon neutral lodges in Southern Africa: 15M
– Non-profit projects aiming to protect tropical forests (S .Africa): 4M
* Your client is a proponent of ethical and sustainable business as well
as corporate social responsibility – he believes that being “eco-friendly”
and “green” doesn’t mean sacrificing profits.
ON-GOING “CARBON NEUTRAL” PROJECT IN AFRICA:
LOW-EMISSIONS TIME-SHARE PROPERTIES, SOUTH EAST ASIA:
C. Your task:
Is to create a concise professional proposal of how you are planning to
manager and allocate Mr. Kim’s funds, currently placed in a Swiss Bank.
Remember, you are NOT strictly limited to 1M, as you could borrow additional
funds. Swiss Bank could provide up to 80 % of total capital in a form of a loan,
meaning you could reach a total amount of 5M, at 2% annual interest (It
varies, but lets fix the interest rate at 2 % for this specific project)
The goal is to propose a sounds investment strategy, both secure and
profitable, providing a MINIMUM RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF 5%
BEFORE INTEREST AND TAX.
In short, your clients expects you to generate CHF 50’000 EBIT.
The investments can range from short to mid to long term and should focus
on leisure, travel, hospitality or hospitality & leisure related real estate.
The success of your proposal depends on your ability to incorporate, as
long as it remains relevant, the concepts introduced in class, such as
scarcity, opportunity cost, supply and demand, elasticity, PPF,
externalities, economies of scale, various pricing strategies, forms of
competition, type of economy etc… in your report, as well as address
philosophical, ethical and environmental issues.
Please consider the following “recent” events, and their direct / indirect impact
on your immediate operating environment:
– 2008 sub-prime crisis and its worldwide knock-on effect
– Strong Swiss Frank
– EU economic instability, budget deficits and resulting austerity
– Oil, Natural Gas & other commodity diminishing prices.
– Instability in the Middle / East, Central and North African regions
– Consequent migration to Europe of skilled & unskilled workers
– Various goods and transactions trade sanctions: Russia /EU/US
*Real figures, statistics and academic references are a must!
D. Your Report should be 1500 words in length (+/- 10%) and include:
• An introduction (10 points)
• Investment philosophy (brief) (10 points)
• Environmental and ethical concerns, CSR (15 points)
• Main body (This is NOT a strict guideline!) (35 points)
– Relevant elements only of environment analysis (PESTLE)
– Internal analysis, related to investment choices (brief SWOT)
– Form of ownership and sources of finance, ROI analysis
– Portfolio diversification, forecasted demand if relevant
• Conclusion, including a 5 – 10 year Naive Forecast (10 points)
• References / Bibliography (10 points)
• Appealing formatting and general esthetics (10 points)
There was a worldwide recession, however were all countries equally
affected? All areas equally affected? All Industries equally affected? To what
extend tourism? Travellers – business/ leisure? Different segments?
Categories? The more in depth, detailed and precise you research (quantity
and quality of your references, hence reading) the better your analysis,
discussion and arguments will be!! Don’t forget that you need professional
and academic references in order to underpin your discussions, analysis &
arguments! Be critical and use the word limit wisely!
E. TIPS & SUGGESTIONS:
1. You are NOT expected to produce a full-on 5-10 year business plan, but
rather a brief feasibility study, linked to selected eco-socio-political factors.
2. Your success is based on your ability to analyse your immediate operating
environment (Switzerland) and beyond (EU, World?) from the standpoint of:
– Competition
– Economy
– Technology
– Politics
– Socio-cultural
– Environment
– Legislation
You DO NOT have to create your own C-PEST or PESTEL – simply use the
one provided on Moodle and extract the elements relevant to your analysis.
3. Based on this analysis you should be able to come up with an idea or
multiple ideas of how to allocate the funds. Do not forget to address the form
of ownership (limited / unlimited liability) as well as clearly outline the
source of financing if you are planning to borrow additional funds.
4. It could be beneficial to conduct a brief bullet point SWOT of your
Investment idea, consider using a table format. In the Opportunities and
Threats section, it is highly advisable to address the GLOBAL factors and
events that we have been discussing in class and reading in the news, as
they will also have an impact on your business.
5. SWOT, logically, could be followed by a basic ROI analysis based on the
actual current figures and your environmental analysis.
6. Remember, Switzerland is not as isolated as it appears to be. Global
economy and events may have a direct or indirect impact on this country’s
internal environment. Some may be worth mentioning.
PASTLE analysis must be based on the uploaded file (MarketLine_CH_PESTLE_insight_1

SWOT Analysis based on Montreux

I want an Arcade business with arcade machines, darts and pool tables, as well as a mini bar with snacks services and the main target market are the students from Glion, SHMS, HIM, but it is suitable for older people or younger children too. The idea is to create a leisure relaxing place for students to relief their daily stress and to create one more other choice other than bars and clubs as many asian students do not really club.