Determinants of corporate listings on stock markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ghana

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) economies have established stock markets to encourage the mobilization of domestic funds and attract foreign capital in-flows for corporate investment and growth. But domestic corporate listings on stock markets have been abysmal. This study examines the reasons behind the low patronage of stock markets by domestic firms in SSA using Ghana as a case study. Data for the study was obtained from 110 out of the 200 largest firms in Ghana and included firms which were listed on the stock market and unlisted firms over three time-periods from 2002 to 2009. The findings show that knowledge about stock market dynamics and financial institutions' support encourages listing on the stock market. However, extensive information and disclosure costs requirements, and loss of ownership and control discourage listing on the stock market.     

Stock listing and financial flexibility

A stock listing usually reflects easy access to external equity financing. Although scant empirical evidence exists on the matter, the literature suggests that the enhanced standing towards creditors - which would result in easier access to debt financing - is an extra advantage of being publicly quoted. This paper tests whether a stock listing leads to more flexibility of debt financing, using a data set of listed and comparably large unlisted companies. The data reveals that listing mainly increases the flexible use of debt financing. The difference between listed and unlisted firms is most apparent when investment opportunities tend to arrive in low-cash-flow states. Furthermore, as the unlisted firms in the dataset are all large consolidating business groups, the results indicate that a group structure does not substitute for listing. The results are robust to different estimation methods.     

Financial disclosure by SMEs listed on a semi-regulated market: evidence from the Euronext Free Market

This study investigates the financial disclosure policy of small and medium-sized enterprises listed on a stock market with very low disclosure requirements: the Free Market of the Euronext Stock Exchange. In contrast to firms listed on a regulated stock market, firms on the Free Market do not have any obligation to disclose periodic or price-sensitive information. We investigate the determinants of voluntary financial disclosure and its influence on stock liquidity. Our results suggest that firms disclose more financial information when they are likely to benefit from disclosure. Firms especially disclose when they issue equity. Voluntary disclosure also has a significant positive effect on stock liquidity, consistent with disclosure reducing information asymmetry.     

What do we know about the capital structure of small firms?

Firm data from ten Western European countries is used in this paper to contrast the sources of leverage across small and large, as well as across listed and unlisted firms. Specifically, the explanatory power of firm-specific, country of incorporation institutional, and macroeconomic factors is evaluated. Using data that is more comprehensive in coverage than that used in the existing research the stylized facts of the capital structure literature for large and listed firms is confirmed, but contrasting evidence is obtained for smaller companies. First, the country of incorporation carries much more information for small firms, supporting the idea that small firms are more financially constrained and face non-firm-specific hurdles in their capital structure choice. Second, using two different leverage measures it is shown that the relationship of firm size and tangibility to leverage is robust to the measure used for listed, but not for unlisted firms.     

Financial Policy and Capital Structure Choice in U.K. SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Company Panel Data

This article utilises up-to-date financial panel data, and investigates the capital structure of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.K. Different capital structure theories are reviewed in order to formulate testable propositions concerning the levels of debt in small businesses, and a number of regression models are developed to test the hypotheses.The results suggest that most of the determinants of capital structure presented by the theory of finance appear indeed to be relevant for the U.K. small business sector. Size, age, profitability, growth and future growth opportunities, operating risk, asset structure, stock turnover and net debtors all seem to have an effect on the level of both the short and long term debt in small firms. Furthermore, the paper provides evidence which suggest that the capital structure of small firms is time and industry dependent. The results indicate that time and industry specific effects influence the maturity structure of debt raised by SMEs. In general terms, average short term debt ratios in SMEs appear to be increasing during periods of economic recession and decrease as the economic conditions in the marketplace improve. On the other hand, average long term debt ratios exhibit a positive relationship with changes in economic growth.     

Stock market,credit market,and heterogeneous innovations

The relative importance of credit market development and stock market development in boosting innovation remains a long-standing debate issue. In this study, we document how different types of financial markets development affect heterogeneous innovations. Using a broad sample across 42 developed and emerging economies and a generalized difference-in-differences identification strategy, we find that stock market development leads to significantly higher substantive innovation, especially in young and small firms, but has negative impact on incremental innovation. Conversely, credit market development promotes incremental innovation, especially in mature and large firms, but has negative impact on substantive innovation. Further analyses indicate that stronger shareholder protection enhances the positive impact of stock market on substantive innovation, while stronger creditor rights enhance the promoting effect of credit market on incremental innovation, and even turn the negative impact of credit market on substantive innovation into positive. Our paper provides new insights into the heterogeneous effects of credit market and equity markets on the real economy.     

Sensitivity of external resources to cash flow under financial constraints

This paper explores the external financing–cash flow relationship in capital structure theory by comparing unlisted (financially constrained) and listed (financially unconstrained) companies. We postulate that investment is determined endogenously in the case of unlisted firms, as they are strongly dependent on internally generated funds (cash flow). Consequently, unlisted firms invest their cash flow in profitable projects, using any residual cash flow to increase their holdings of safe assets. In turn, listed companies determine their investment exogenously and may reduce leverage if they raise an excess of cash flow. As a result, listed companies would react more negatively to shocks in cash flow. Our findings reveal that both unlisted and listed companies show a negative external financing–cash flow relationship, that of the latter being clearly more intense.     

证券市场选择是否影响公司业绩与价值?--来自中国房地产行业的经验证据

企业在不同资本市场之间的选择往往是上市过程中一个重要决策。上市地点是否会影响其后续业绩表现以及价值？文章基于中国内地房地产企业数据的研究发现,在中国香港上市的企业比在中国内地上市的企业经营业绩更优,而两者在股市价值上并无显著差别。另外,在(中国)香港上市的房地产企业中,国有企业股市价值低于非国有企业;而在中国内地上市的房地产企业中,国有企业股市价值高于非国有企业。研究结果说明,证券市场完善的监管有利于降低代理人问题,提高企业经营业绩。     

我国上市公司资本结构现状及优化研究

目前,我国上市公司资本结构方面突出的问题就是偏好股权资本、严重依赖外源融资,对负债经营缺乏正确认识。其成因是股权融资成本较低,股票市场的非理性发展,债券市场发展缓慢等所导致的。为了实现公司价值最大化的目标,应积极构建上市公司最优资本结构,完善资本市场和上市公司治理结构,充分发挥财务杠杆效益,调整上市公司负债结构,提高上市公司盈利水平,从而实现公司价值最大化。     

萨班斯法案的经济后果分析

二十一世纪初美国爆发了一系列上市公司的财务丑闻,美国随后通过了萨班斯法案,以加强对上市公司的监管。萨班斯法案对美国乃至世界资本市场造成了一系列深远的影响,本文从多个层面分析萨班斯法案的经济后果以及我国内部控制现状,提出完善我国上市公司内部控制规范实施的政策建议。     

Foreign vs. domestic listing: An entrepreneurial decision

In this paper, we use a unique hand-collected dataset to analyze stock listing as an entrepreneurial decision. By comparing mainland Chinese entrepreneurial firms listed in Hong Kong with the same type of firms opting for a domestic listing on the Shenzhen second board market, we argue that the decision to list on a particular stock exchange is a question of entrepreneurial signaling, and often a trade-off between short-term financial considerations and the entrepreneur's pursuit of long-term benefits.     

金融去杠杆对经济增长和经济波动的影响

金融去杠杆会影响经济增长和经济波动,而金融结构变迁和金融发展水平变化可能使金融去杠杆与宏观经济之间的关联呈现出差异性.本文以全球97个国家和地区1980—2015年的年度非平衡面板数据为研究样本,实证检验了金融去杠杆对宏观经济的影响,以及金融结构变迁和金融发展水平变化对二者关联的影响.结果表明,金融去杠杆会抑制经济增长,同时加大经济波动;以资本市场为代表的直接金融的发展会弱化金融去杠杆对经济增长的负效应和对经济波动的放大效应;而金融结构的变迁和以金融中介为代表的间接金融的发展不会对金融去杠杆与宏观经济之间的关联产生影响.这表明,在金融去杠杆背景下,监管部门应采用可控的手段来稳步推进金融去杠杆进程,避免产生"处置风险的风险".与此同时,还应加快资本市场的发展,以平抑金融去杠杆对宏观经济可能带来的负面影响.     

Capital Growth,Financing Source and Profitability of Small Businesses: Evidence from Taiwan Small Enterprises

This paper examines the relationship between profitability and financial capital for 1,276 small firms in Taiwan over the period 1992–1997. The results indicate a statistically positive relationship between profitability and capital growth. When financial capital is further divided into debt and equity, the results indicate a significantly positive relationship between profitability and equity financing, but a significantly negative relationship between profitability and debt financing. Moreover, the profitability of small firms is positively related to both the external economic conditions and the firms previous profitability.     

混业经营下金融发展与经济增长——基于亚洲地区的非稳定面板数据分析

文章使用面板单位根与面板协整方法，实证研究混业经营条件下金融发展与经济增长的关系。研究表明：混业经营条件下金融发展与经济增长存在面板协整关系。即金融发展与经济增长有长期均衡关系；银行发展水平质量的提高与经济增长有显著正相关关系．然而银行发展水平数量的提高，阻碍经济增长；股票市场与经济增长有显著正相关关系，而且这种关系比较稳定。     

The Relaxation of Financing Constraints by the Initial Public Offering of Small Manufacturing Firms

Capital market imperfections, such as information asymmetry, increase the cost of external funds compared to that of internal funds. This phenomenon creates financing constraints limiting the availability of external funds and making corporate investment excessively sensitive to cash flow. This study analyzes the effect of financing constraints on the investment by comparing the financial behavior of Korean firms before and after their stocks are newly listed on a stock exchange. The results show that the sensitivity of investment to cash flow will be higher during the period before initial public offering (IPO) than after IPO. In particular, the effect of financing constraints relaxation by IPO is more prominent in small than in large manufacturing firms.     

What factors explain stock market retardation in Islamic Countries

Stock markets have been recognized in literature as a source of financial development and economic growth. Notwithstanding the recent trend of the stock market development in emerging countries, some argue that Islamic countries' stock exchanges are still infantile. The central aim of this research, therefore, is to investigate factors impeding stock market development (SMD) in Islamic countries. We explore a panel annual data of 11 main Islamic countries vis-à-vis the developed countries for the period of 1996–2011. The findings show that all of our concerned macroeconomic determinants play a major role in the developed countries. On the other hand, financial openness has substantially less contribution in Islamic countries, while the financial intermediary development plays a major role. The results are also indicative of the need for the Islamic countries to improve their legal environment and economic freedom. Lastly, we also attempt to measure the integration level, where the findings tend to indicate a relatively lower and unstable pattern of integration for the Islamic countries, suggesting the impact of volatile inflows.     

Day-of-the-Week Variation and Predicting Stock Returns: Taiwan and Thailand Stock Exchanges

Previously, researchers created a day-of-the-week anomaly in closing stock returns for firms listed on established financial markets. This article explores whether this line of argument is or is not satisfactory and does or does not aid in predicting daily stock returns. The article focuses on the performance of stock returns for two large Asian Stock Market exchanges, Taiwan and Thailand. The purpose is to determine if stock market returns (which include closing prices and dividends) are in part predictable and whether there are explanations for short-term predictability.     

Institutional conditions,economic policy uncertainty and foreign institutional investment in China

This paper investigates the influence of host and home country institutional conditions on foreign institutional investment. Utilizing longitudinal and multilevel data on foreign institutional investment in Chinese listed firms between 2004 and 2017, we document that foreign institutional investment decreases with increasing economic policy uncertainty in the host nation. We also find that foreign institutional investors respond more strongly to local economic policy uncertainty when their home nations are closer to China, are culturally and administratively similar to China, operate a smaller domestic stock market, and have weaker minority shareholder protection. The impact of economic policy uncertainty on foreign institutional investment is also stronger when the host nation institution is more developed and open.. Moreover, we reveal the mediating role of stock market volatility on this relationship. Overall, we document that foreign institutional investment is not only shaped by institutional conditions in the host country but also influenced by home country characteristics that define geographical and institutional distance between home and host nations.     

系统性金融风险的度量及其时变经济效应研究

基于TVP-SV-SVAR模型，分析六个不同金融子市场风险对实体经济的实时冲击效应，结合时变脉冲响应方法构建了动态权重系统性金融风险综合指数，并区分高低风险状态探讨其对实体经济的影响。结果表明，银行部门、股票市场和外部金融市场对系统性金融风险的贡献较大；基于对实体经济冲击视角的动态权重系统性金融风险综合指数与样本期内实际金融经济事件的发展趋势一致；不同状态下系统性金融风险对经济增长的冲击效应不同：短期来看，高风险点系统性金融风险抑制经济增长，低风险点系统性金融风险促进经济增长；长期来看，系统性金融风险在高低状态下对经济增长均有负向冲击效应。研究结论对于防范和化解系统性金融风险的宏观审慎政策制定具有重要的参考意义。     

The simultaneous evolution of economic growth,financial development,and trade openness

This article empirically investigates the interactions among economic growth, financial development, and trade openness through simultaneous equation systems. The identification and estimation of the systems rely on the methodology of identification through heteroskedasticity. The empirical results show that each of the three variables interacts in important ways. When controlling for the reverse causation, trade promotes economic growth in high-income, low-inflation, and nonagricultural countries but has a negative impact on growth in countries with the opposite attributes. Similarly, when accounting for the feedbacks from growth, banks and stock markets have different impacts on economic growth. While banking development is detrimental to output growth, stock market development is more favorable to growth in high-income, low-inflation, and nonagricultural countries. The data also reveal coexistence of a positive effect of financial development on trade and a negative effect of trade on financial development in poorer countries. In richer countries, financial development stimulates trade openness whereas trade has an ambiguous impact on financial development.