Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
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Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
INTEREST RATE RISK
A portion of our exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates to our highly liquid investment portfolio, with maturities of three months or less from original dates of purchase and are classified as cash equivalents on our consolidated balance sheet. We do not use derivative financial instruments in our highly liquid investment portfolio. We place cash and cash equivalents with various major financial institutions and highly rated money market accounts. Our investment policy has strict guidelines focusing on preservation of capital. The portfolio is comprised of various instruments including term deposits with banks, marketable securities and money market accounts. Our cash is principally invested in the U.S. dollar and China renminbi serving as a natural hedge of our renminbi denominated costs. As of March 31, 2021, the outstanding amount in the highly liquid investment portfolio was $1.5 billion, the largest components of which were U.S. dollar, Brazilian real, China renminbi and Indian rupee denominated money market accounts with an average return of 1%. A hypothetical 10% change in interest rates would not be expected to have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows over the next fiscal year.
We had variable rate debt outstanding of approximately $0.6 billion as of March 31, 2021. Variable rate debt obligations consisted of borrowings under our term loans. Interest on these obligations is discussed in note 8 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data".
Our variable rate debt instruments create exposures for us related to interest rate risk. Primarily due to the current low interest rates, a hypothetical 10% change in interest rates would not be expected to have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows over the next fiscal year.
As of March 31, 2021, the approximate average fair value of our debt outstanding under our Notes due February 2023, June 2025, February 2026, June 2029, and May 2030 was 111.8% of the face value of the debt obligations based on broker trading prices.
In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) that regulates LIBOR announced it intends to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. On November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration, the administrator of LIBOR, with the support of the United States Federal Reserve and the FCA, announced plans to consult on ceasing publication of LIBOR on December 31, 2021 for only the one week and two month LIBOR tenors, and on June 30, 2023 for all other LIBOR tenors. While this announcement extends the transition period to June 2023, the United States Federal Reserve concurrently issued a statement advising banks to stop new LIBOR issuances by the end of 2021. In light of these recent announcements, the future of LIBOR at this time is uncertain and any changes in the methods by which LIBOR is determined or regulatory activity related to LIBOR’s phaseout could cause LIBOR to perform differently than in the past or cease to exist. The consequences of these developments cannot be entirely predicted, but could include an increase in the cost of our borrowings.
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RISK
We transact business in various foreign countries and are, therefore, subject to risk of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. We have established a foreign currency risk management policy to manage this risk. To the extent possible, we manage our foreign currency exposure by evaluating and using non-financial techniques, such as currency of invoice, leading and lagging payments and receivables management. In addition, we may borrow in various foreign currencies and enter into short-term foreign currency derivative contracts, including forward, swap, and option contracts to hedge only those currency exposures associated with certain assets and liabilities, mainly accounts receivable and accounts payable, and cash flows denominated in non-functional currencies.
We endeavor to maintain a partial or fully hedged position for certain transaction exposures. These exposures are primarily, but not limited to, revenues, customer and vendor payments and inter-company balances in currencies other than the functional currency of the operating entity. The credit risk of our foreign currency derivative contracts is minimized since all contracts are with large financial institutions and accordingly, fair value adjustments related to the credit risk of the counter-party financial institution were not material. The gains and losses on foreign currency derivative contracts generally offset the losses and gains on the assets, liabilities and transactions hedged. The fair value of currency derivative contracts is reported on the balance sheet. The aggregate notional amount of outstanding contracts as of March 31, 2021 amounted to $8.9 billion and the recorded fair values of the associated assets and liabilities were not material. The majority of these foreign exchange contracts expire in less than three months. They will settle primarily in the British pound, Canadian dollar, China renminbi, Euro, Hungarian forint, Israeli shekel, Malaysian ringgit, Mexican peso, Swedish krona, and U.S. dollar.
Based on our overall currency rate exposures as of March 31, 2021, including the derivative financial instruments intended to hedge the nonfunctional currency-denominated monetary assets, liabilities and cash flows, and other factors, a 10%
appreciation or depreciation of the U.S. dollar from its cross-functional rates would not be expected, in the aggregate, to have a material effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows in the near-term.
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