This is a Japanese translation of the Jan. 1, 1998 version of UVA-F-1020. Cases Empirical Chemicals (A) and (B) consider the capital-investment decisions to be made by executives of this large chemicals firm in January 1992. The A case presents a go/no-go project evaluation regarding improvements to a polypropylene production plant. The B case reviews the same project, but from one level higher, where the executive faces an either/or investment decision between two mutually exclusive projects. The objective of the two cases is to expose students to a wide range of capital-budgeting issues.