A. Without the use of valuation tables, calculate: the present value of N1=500,000 for 40 years @ 8% is 21.7743. b. Find i, given that (A-1)/i x N1,200,000.00 = N2,520,000.00 (5 marks)

Annuity payment, $A = N500,000$
Present Value Interest Factor of an Annuity (PVIFA) $= 21.7243$

The present value is $\boxed{\text{N10,862,150}}$.

a) ii)
To find the interest rate 'i', we use the Future Value of an Annuity formula, as indicated by the expression $\frac{(1+i)^n - 1}{i}$.

Future Value, $FV = N2,520,000.00$
Annuity Payment, $A = N1,200,000.00$
Number of years, $n = 2$
The formula for Future Value of an Annuity is $FV = A \times \frac{(1+i)^n - 1}{i}$.

We know that $(1+i)^2 - 1 = (1 + 2i + i^2) - 1 = 2i + i^2$.
So, the equation becomes:

Since $i$ cannot be zero for an interest rate, we can divide the numerator by $i$:

The interest rate is $\boxed{\text{10\%}}$.