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They
try to make the best possible use of funds available for investment projects.
Capital rationing is the process of selecting the most valuable projects to invest available funds.
In this process, managers use a number of capital budgeting methods such as cash payback
period method (CPPM), accounting rate of return (ARR) method, net present value (NPV)
method and internal rate of return (IRR) method.
Steps in capital rationing:
An effective capital rationing usually consists of the following steps:
Step 1:
First of all, the alternative projects are screened using payback period and accounting rate of
return methods. Management sets maximum desired payback period or minimum desired
accounting rate of return for all competing alternative projects. The payback period or
accounting rate of return of various alternatives is then computed and compared to the
managements desired payback period and accounting rate of return. (To know how payback
period and accounting rate of return are computed, read payback method and accounting rate
of return method articles)
Step 2:
The projects that pass the initial test in step 1 are further analyzed using net present value and
internal rate of return methods. (To know how net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return
(IRR) are computed, read net present value method and internal rate of return method
articles).
Step 3:
The projects that survive in step 2 are ranked using a predetermined criteria and compared with
the available funds. Finally, the projects are selected for funding.
The projects that remain unfunded may be reconsidered on the availability of funds.
Capital rationing decision process
Therefore, we need to change our analysis in order to take into account the limited resources like
money in making the investment decisions.
Now, first thing to know who is responsible for the decisions relating to capital budgeting and
capital rationing. Generally, the investment decision making is divided in accordance with the
size of the investment and criticality of the investments.
Mandatory (Critical & Necessary for Business and Legal): CEO
Discretionary (R&D, Growth Projects) Investments: Junior Mgmt or division heads
Reasons for Capital Rationing:
What are the reasons because of which you do not invest in a project which provide you highest
return? There are situations in which after calculating the IRR's and NPV's of different projects
you are forced not to invest in the best project. Some reasons are
1. The best project may have a very high initial investment and you may not have that money.
So, you are forced to reject that project as an option.
2. The company does not have the human resource, knowledge, or talent, which is required to
undertake the project. The project might have high NPV but if you cannot manage it, you are
forced not to invest in that project.
3. The companies have the prevailing fear of debt. In case of Muslim countries, there is a major
issue of "Riba" (interest) among Muslim investors and the companies due to this religious
constraint choose not to borrow money. That is the reason that in many Muslim countries capital
rationing has an ethical bases attach to it. Usually, the investors in these countries invest in the
equity based investments as it has a risk of profit or loss in that kind of investment. We will
discuss this topic in the upcoming lectures.
Now, it is important from you to remember that companies have different constraints, which
keep them from investing in the best projects. The fear of debt is justified because when we
discuss about the risk in upcoming lectures you find out that when a company takes on debt its
future cash flows become more risky. Therefore, there is a possibility of default due to which
there is a fear of debt. These are various reasons due to which company decides not to invest in
the project with the highest NPV and some of them involve capital rationing decisions as the
following example shows.
Example:
There are 4 Projects (mutually exclusive real asset projects) to choose from. Total budget isRs.1,
000
Project
A
B
C
D
Investment
200
100
300
800
IRR
40%
40%
35%
30%
NPV
300
300
200
600
Which 3 projects you will choose from the above 4 real asset projects?
We cannot pick all 4 Projects because the Budget Constraint is 1000 and the total investment in
all 3 Projects is 1400 (=200+100+300+800).we have to go through capital rationing process &
choose from among these 4 different projects. We have some options, which are as follows.
Option 1:
If we pick Projects A, B, & C then we have to consider what will be the combined NPV of these
projects and what average IRR will be of this portfolio or combination of projects. Finally, we
have to look an interesting parameter for capital rationing which is what percentage of total
budget available is being utilized if we invest in these projects.
Budget Utilization = 200+100+300 = 600 (out of 1000)
Total NPV of three projects = 300+300+200 = 800
Simple Average IRR = 38% = (40+40+35)/3 Non-weighted
38% seems to be attractive IRR. NPV of 800 looks good relatively to the size of investments.
Finally, we look at percent budget utilization and for this option
Budget Utilization = 200+100+300 = 600
This option is utilizing 60% of total budget.
Now we repeat the same practice for the other options available to us
Option 2: Pick Projects A and D because they have the highest NPV's.
Budget Utilization = 200+800 = 1000
Total NPV = 300+600 = 900
Average IRR = 35%
Option 3: Pick Projects B and D because they have the highest NPV's.
Budget Utilization = 100+800 = 900
Total NPV = 300+600 = 900
Average IRR = 35%
Conclusion
Summary:
Budget Utilization
NPV
Avg IRR
Option 1
Rs.600 (60%)
Rs.800 38%
Option 2
Option 3
Rs.1000 (100%)
Rs.900 (90%)
Rs.900 35%
Rs.900 35%
It is clear from the summery that option 2 is best option. It carries the highest NPV which is Rs
900 and it also has the highest budget utilization at IRR of roughly 35 %.
Why we not choose option 1:
Option no 1 has the highest IRR of 38% but the problem is that in option 1 our NPV is not the
highest, rather, it is lower than the option 2 and 3.
Secondly, Budget utilization is only 60% and the 40% of the money available for investment is
wasted and is lying idle. What will you do with this money? The idle money available in
company should earn some return on it. If you do not have the attractive project to invest in, you
are forced to keep it in a bank account that will yield 9 to 10 percent. So, the percent of budget
utilize by any portfolio is very important as it should be as close to 100 % as possible.
Thus, we conclude on the basis f maximum NPV and maximum budget utilization criterion that
option
2nd is the best.
3 Types of Problems in Capital Rationing:
1. Size Difference of cash flows
2. Timing Difference of cash flows
3. Different (or Unequal) Lives of different projects:
We have discussed the problem of different lives of the projects in previous lectures.
Size Difference (in Investment Outlay):
The differences in initial investment (or outlay) means different extend of budget utilization.
We compare the projects one with small cash flows taking place at regular interval and the other
project has large cash flows taking place at different point in time. If two projects have different
cash flows, where do you invest the un-utilized money or leftover portion of the budget? Money
that is not generating a good return is being wasted and eaten up by Inflation!
Example: Budget Size is Rs 1,500
Two projects are
Project A
Cash Flows: Io= Rs200, Yr 1 = + Rs300
NPV = Rs 73 (at i=10%)
IRR = 50%
Project B
Cash Flows: Io= Rs1, 500, Yr 1 = + Rs 1,900
NPV = Rs 227 (at i=10%) IRR = 27%
If we compare two projects the projects A has higher IRR bit we do not make our decision on
IRR because as it is mentioned earlier that the most important criterion would be NPV.
Project B has a highest NPV. Therefore, we choose Project B.IRR is lower because you are
receiving the large cash flow at the later point in time in comparison to the project A.
Timing Difference Problems:
A good project might suffer from a lower IRR even though its NPV is higher. It receives its
larger cash flows later in time.
Example: Budget = Rs 2,500
Project A Cash Flows: Io= -Rs1, 000, Yr1=+Rs100, Yr2=+Rs200, Yr3=+Rs2,000 (late
large cash flow)
NPV = + Rs 758 (at i=10%) IRR = 35%
Project B Cash Flows: Io= -Rs1, 000, Yr1=+650, Yr2=Rs650, Yr3=Rs 650 (Annuity)
NPV = + Rs 616 (at i=10%) IRR = 43%
We would choose Project A on the basis NPV Criteria.
Different Lives Problem:
In comparing two projects or Assets (i.e. Sewing Machines or Printing Machines) with different
lives:
Disadvantage of project with very long life:
Does not give you the opportunity (or option) to replace the equipment quickly in order to keep
pace with technology, better quality, and lower costs
Disadvantage of project with very short life:
Your money will have to be reinvested in some other project with an uncertain NPV and return
so it is risky. If a good project is not available, the money will earn only a minimal return at the
risk free interest rate.
You should use Common Life and EAA Techniques to quantitatively compare such Projects. You
have studied this topic in detail in the previous lectur
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