Financing Choice and Liability Structure of Real Estate Investment Trusts

We conduct an analysis of public financial offerings of equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), with a focus on liability structure effects and whether or not firms target longer-run debt ratios. Our major findings are that (1) proceeds from equity offers are more likely to fund investment, whereas public debt offer proceeds are typically used to reconfigure the liability structure of the firm; (2) public debt issuers are often capital constrained and target total leverage ratios to retain an investment grade credit rating; and (3) the preoffer liability structure affects the issuance choice decision, in that firms with higher preoffer levels of secured (unsecured) debt tend to issue equity (public debt). Other notable findings are that the market for public REIT debt is integrated with the broader debt markets and that higher credit quality firms issue longer-maturing bonds.     

REIT Dividend Determinants: Excess Dividends and Capital Markets

The determinants of excess dividend payments above mandatory requirements in real estate investment trusts (REITs) are evaluated. Payment of excess dividends is related to factors associated with reduced agency costs, strong operating performance, the implementation of a stock repurchase plan and an ability to access short-term bank debt. Recognizing that access to external capital is essential for long-term growth, REITs manage dividend policy to allow for capital acquisition in the form of both equity and debt. The acquisition and use of short-term bank debt provides REIT management flexibility in determining dividend policy.     

Inside Ownership, Risk Sharing and Tobin's q-Ratios: Evidence from REITs

We investigate relations among inside ownership, managerial expenses, risk sharing and equity valuations. Our engine of analysis—Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)—provides a unique and rich framework for analysis since we can calculate extremely accurate measures of asset replacement costs, and hence relative valuation (Tobin's q ). Further, the nature of the financial statements allows us to examine the impact of insider ownership on agency costs since we can accurately measure the costs of the entire management team. Our results show that firms with greater insider holdings tend to invest in assets with lower systematic risk and use less debt in their capital structure. At the same time, managerial expenses are lower as inside ownership increases. Finally, higher levels of insider ownership are associated with higher relative valuation as measured by both higher premiums to net asset value and higher multiples of cash flows. The results have implications for the design of optimal management contracts for both REITs and firms in general.     

新型城镇化PPP项目最优资本结构及其影响因素研究——基于合作共赢的一般均衡视角

本文以新型城镇化建设中的准公益性PPP项目为研究对象，建立政府、企业、银行三方合作的理论模型，采用一般均衡分析与数值仿真模拟方法对项目最优资本结构及其影响因素进行分析，结果表明：PPP项目存在理论上的最优股权结构与资产负债率，公众收入水平、资本产出效率、折旧率、债务利率、企业所得税率以及政府偏好等因素影响项目经营收益与成本、资本运作效率、利润分配方式，并重置最优资本结构。因此，PPP项目融资方案设计应该参考多方合作共赢条件下的最优资本结构，同时，基于项目风险控制以及经济社会效益平衡的目标，通过调节各类影响因素完善项目最优资本结构。     

Finance, Investment and Investment Performance: Evidence from the REIT Sector

We examine financing, investment and investment performance in the equity REIT sector over the 1981–1999 time period. Analysis reveals significant differences between the old-REIT (1981–1992) and new-REIT (1993–1999) eras. The sector experienced rapid growth in the new-REIT era, primarily from firm-level investment as opposed to new entry. Firm-level investment was largely financed by equity and long-term debt, with little reliance on retained earnings. Financing policy stabilized in the new-REIT era, and capital structures became more complex. We find that REITs provided returns over and above their cost of capital, where most of the value-added investment occurred in the new-REIT era by newer firms. Finally, we present novel evidence on IPO activity and new firm investment–investment performance relations that is consistent with Tobin's q theory of investment.     

基于SBM的我国省级环境—经济效率研究

运用改进的SBM模型对我国各省市区环境经济效率及其环境规制带来的经济影响测算的结果表明,各省市区环境与经济效率整体较低且趋于下降,环境规制带来的经济损失则在上升,说明我国工业和经济发展方式仍然粗放。应切实转变经济发展方式,发展循环经济,实行有区别的环境规制政策和减排目标,适当提高能源使用的成本。     

An Analysis of REIT Security Issuance Decisions

This article tests the ability of traditional capital structure theories to explain the issuance decisions of real estate investment trusts (REITs). For issuances made between 1997 and 2006, we find strong support for the market timing theory of capital structure. Controlling for past returns and growth, a REIT is more likely to issue equity when its price-to–net asset value ratio is high. This suggests that REITs issue equity in public markets when the cost of equity capital is lower in the public market than in the private market. Consistent with traditional market timing, REITs are more likely to issue equity after experiencing large price increases. We also find some support for REITs following the trade-off theory of capital structure. REITs are less likely to issue debt when proxies for expected bankruptcy costs are high.     

Review of: “ EXPERIMENTS ON DECISIONS WIDER RISK: THE EXPECTED UTILITY HYPOTHESIS ” by Paul J. H. Schoemaker,Martinos Nijhoff Publishing,Boston, 1980, xxii + 211 pages,list $18.95.

Almost every capital budgeting textbook has a chapter on the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Though this is theoretically satisfying, it does not describe how companies actually operate. The WACC calls for a balanced capital structure in which debt and equity are utilized at some predetermined percentage. The problem is that researchers have shown that firms try to avoid selling new shares whenever possible. This leads to the pecking order theory in which firms first use internal funds, then low-risk debt, then high-risk debt, and finally, as a last resort, new common stock. There is no attempt to balance the capital structure. This survey study basically confirms that approach.     

上市公司重大资产重组的业绩改善研究

近年来，我国上市公司的重大资产重组事件频频发生。本文考察了2001年进行重大资产重组的71家上市公司，分析其重组前后的业绩变化。重大资产重组后企业盈利能力指标得到了显著改善，现金流管理、财务稳健性和经营能力指标的提高不显著。公司重组后第2年的业绩改善要高于重组后的2年平均业绩改善，表明我国上市公司的重组是实质性重组而非报表性重组。     

中国上市公司股权融资与债权融资成本实证研究

本文对中国上市公司IPO后的股权与债权的融资成本进行了实证研究。影响企业市场价值变化的主要因素是行业因素以及企业的初始市值，于是我们选取了家庭耐用消费品行业以及纺织和服装行业的上市公司，对同行业问各组匹配公司进行直接比较，从而发现：站在上市公司股东利益的角度考虑，债权融资成本低于股权融资成本。这主要是股权融资的软约束造成的企业经营业绩下滑，进而导致企业进行多次股权融资行为后市场价值下跌。     

制造业上市公司资本结构研究——以安徽省为例

在考查安徽省36家A股制造业上市公司2006～2010年资本结构现状的基础上,实证研究其资本结构的影响因素及与经营绩效的互动关系。研究表明,影响安徽省制造业上市公司资本结构的因素主要有公司规模、盈利能力、经营能力、成长能力、股权集中度;股权资本约束力不足、股权融资偏好以及资本市场结构失衡导致其资本结构与经营绩效之间无显著相关性。为此,提出优化安徽省制造业上市公司资本结构的对策建议。     

资产专用性视角下的资本结构动态分析

本文按照公司价值最大化思路建立考虑资产专用性和资本成本因素的资本结构动态模型，以资产专用性为视角考察资本结构动态过程的路径和原因。研究表明，资产专用性程度对公司资本结构动态演变的过程和结果都有深刻的影响，权益资本成本和负债资本成本的不同动态特性诱致公司资本结构动态演变。利用中国上市公司财务数据所进行的实证检验结果显著地支持本文的理论模型和结论。     

Decreasing Utility for Money and Optimal Corporate Debt Ratio

Increasing the ratio of debt capital to total capital increases leverage or sensitivity of equity earnings per share to changes in pretax earnings on composite capital. If (1) total capital needs, and (2) probabilistic pretax earnings on composite capital are held fixed while the debt ratio is increased, the result is an increased variability of after tax earnings per dollar of equity capital. With the “price” (variability) growing with still further increases in debt ratio, “nonuniform utility of money” concepts are helpful in revealing this growing variability as an “investor barrier” to still greater debt ratios.     

Near and dear? The role of location in CSR engagement

Research summary : Building on economic geography and institutional theory, we develop and test theory relating geographic variables to the strength of corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement and the cost of equity capital. For a large sample of U.S. firms over the period 1998–2009, we find strong and robust evidence that firms located in areas characterized by high levels of local CSR density score higher in CSR engagement. In addition, firms located close to major cities and financial centers exhibit higher CSR engagement compared to firms located in more remote areas. Moreover, the effect of CSR engagement on reducing equity financing costs is even greater for firms in high CSR density areas than for firms in low CSR density areas. Managerial summary : Does the location of CSR engagement by firms affect the strength of CSR engagement by their neighbors? Does the geography of engagement have an impact on financial performance? Our findings show that a firm's CSR engagement increases in areas where there is dense CSR engagement and when it is located near large cities. In these areas, norms, values, and knowledge related to CSR are transmitted to firms through face‐to‐face meetings and frequent social interactions with groups such as peers, labor unions, news media, universities, and community organizations, which tend to be concentrated in large cities. Our findings further highlight that CSR engagement reduces equity financing costs for firms in areas where CSR is widely practiced. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

REIT and Commercial Real Estate Returns: A Postmortem of the Financial Crisis

In the years surrounding the financial crisis, the share prices of equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) were much more volatile than the underlying commercial real estate prices. To better understand this phenomenon we examine the cross‐sectional dispersion of REIT returns during this time period with a particular focus on the influence of their capital structures. By looking at both the debt ratio and the maturity structure of the debt, we separate the pure leverage effect from the effect of financial distress. Consistent with leverage and financial distress costs amplifying the price decline, we find that the share prices of REITs with higher debt‐to‐asset ratios and shorter maturity debt fell more during the 2007 to early‐2009 crisis period. Although REIT prices rebounded with the bounce back in commercial real estate prices, financial distress costs had a permanent effect on REIT values. In particular, we find that REITs with more debt due during the crisis period tended to sell more property and issue more equity in 2009, when prices were depressed.     

Risk and capital structure in Asian project finance

We develop and test hypotheses derived from a multi-level theoretical framework for understanding factors shaping the credit risk and capital structure of a quintessentially Asian form of investment known as project finance. It differs from other corporate financing approaches. A project company is separate and bankruptcy remote from the investing firm sponsors that create it. The project company relies extensively on debt capital provided by creditors to fund project operations. Creditors provide more (less) debt as a percentage of overall project capital when there is less (more) risk of project failure and non-repayment. We define a target risk framework identifying country-, industry-, syndicate-, firm-, and project-related factors shaping Asian project finance company credit risk and thus, project debt. In a sample of 238 project finance companies announced in 13 Asian countries from 1995–2004, we observe substantial effects on project capital structure with respect to country-level factors linked to institutional and macroeconomic theories, syndicate structure factors linked to agency theory, and lead sponsor experience and project size factors linked to learning and transaction cost theories. We argue that these and other determinants of project finance company credit risk and capital structure in Asia since the mid-1990s anticipate similar relationships now emerging elsewhere around the globe.

融资结构对创业板公司业绩影响的实证研究

融资结构可分为债务融资和股权融资,债务融资又有不同融资成本、不同融资途径、不同债务期限。债务融资下融资成本、融资途径、债务期限和股权融资与企业绩效有何关系呢？基于此,本文运用2010～2015年创业板上市公司实证研究债务融资和股权融资对公司绩效的影响。研究结果表明：股权融资与公司业绩正相关;债务融资下资产负债率、债务期限结构与公 司业绩正相关,而银行借款率与公司业绩负相关。     

Return, Risk and Cost of Equity for Stock S&L Firms: Theory and Empirical Results

This study examines the current deregulated environment for and the financial position of savings and loan associations. It is argued that in a less regulated, more competitive environment managers of savings and loan associations will have to become more proficient in using financial management techniques to assure the survival and the return to profitability of their associations. One aspect of financial management is a more careful estimation of and use of the cost of equity capital, especially for the increasing number of associations that have converted from mutual to stock organizations. Different approaches to the estimation of the cost of equity capital are discussed and monthly stock prices of 35 stock savings and loan associations are used to estimate representative costs of equity capital.     

Focus, Transparency and Value: The REIT Evidence

We trace the effects of corporate focus by examining the relationships among focus, cash flows and firm value. In contrast to past studies that examine the effects of diversifying across SIC-code-defined industries, we show that diversification, even within a single industry, reduces value. Our evidence, drawn from a panel of real estate investment trusts, indicates that this reduction is not due to poor managerial performance. Project-level cash flows are actually higher for less focused firms. However, these gains are offset by higher management, administrative and interest expenses. Thus, the corporate cash flows available to shareholders are not related to focus. Finally, we provide empirical evidence that links the effect of focus on value to informational asymmetries which cause the equity of diversified firms to be less liquid. We attribute some of the effect of focus on the cost of both debt and equity to informational asymmetries or transparency costs.     

环境投资与经济绩效关系研究〗——基于科技型企业的经验证据

本文以科技型上市公司2009～2014年发布的社会责任报告为研究样本,对环境投资与经济绩效之间的关系进行实证研究。从社会责任的视角入手,对科技型上市公司社会责任报告的发布状况和环境投资的披露状况进行分析,将环境投资与经济绩效指标分类进行细化研究,结果表明科技型企业环境投资与宏观经济指标不存在线性关系,对公司营运能力也不存在显著影响,废弃物污染治理投资、环保专项基金、环境税费与公司偿债能力、发展能力、盈利能力之间呈显著正相关,环保设施及系统投资与公司盈利能力之间呈显著负相关,清洁项目投资和生态建设及绿化投资对经济绩效的影响不显著。因此,科技型企业积极开展废弃物污染治理、成立充实环保专项基金、据实承担环境税费,能带来经济利益与环境利益的双赢。