Market segmentation and price differentials between A shares and H shares in the Chinese stock markets

We find that the risk premiums associated with the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets in a two-factor model successfully explain the cross section of returns on the A and H shares. Discounts of H-share prices relative to A-share prices are related to the contemporaneous movements of the H-share local market index relative to the A-share local market index, especially during the period of the Asian financial crisis, as well as the spread of savings rates between Hong Kong and mainland China. The evidence suggests that the risk premiums associated with the segmented A-share and H-share markets exert crucial impacts on the price differentials between the two classes of shares.     

Are the China-related stock markets segmented with both world and regional stock markets?

Implementing the Capital Asset Pricing Model framework, this study investigates the integration of three China-related stock markets, namely, the A-, B- and H-share markets, with both the Hong Kong stock market and the world market. An analysis of market segmentation versus integration using the Jorion and Schwartz model suggests that the A-share market was a segmented market during the period 1995–2004. However, evidence of a higher-level integration between the A- and B-share markets, and the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets is found in the sub-period tests. The hypothesis that the B- and H-share markets are becoming increasingly integrated with the world stock market is not supported.     

Corporate governance and market segmentation: evidence from the price difference between Chinese A and H shares

This paper empirically examines whether the price difference between Chinese A shares, which are traded in the domestic market, and their matching H shares, which are traded in the Hong Kong market, can be explained by firms’ corporate governance characteristics. We find that the A- to H-share price premiums are higher for firms in which the controlling shareholders and corporate insiders have greater potential to expropriate wealth from outside investors. This result is robust when we use a variety of corporate governance variables specific to listed Chinese companies to explain the A-share price premiums and when we control for differences between domestic and foreign investors in required returns, degree of speculative trading, liquidity, information, and demand elasticity. Our findings highlight the important role of corporate governance in explaining the price difference in segmented stock markets.     

Value relevance of accounting information: Evidence from an emerging market

Without making any distinction of the applicable accounting standards, this paper investigates, firstly, the value relevance of accounting information from 1999 to 2012 in different segments of the Chinese stock market. This investigation includes A-shares, prepared under Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) for domestic firms; B-shares, prepared under either the International Accounting Standards (IAS) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for both domestic and overseas firms; and H-shares prepared under either the IAS or Hong Kong GAAP for Hong Kong and overseas firms. Then, the paper examines whether or not the converged IFRS with CAS, applicable from 2007 onwards, is more value relevant when compared with prior to the 2007's standards (CAS, IAS, Hong Kong GAAP for A-share, B-share, and H-share markets, respectively). Based on 34,020 firm-year observations and after controlling for industry- and year-fixed effects, the findings suggest that accounting information is value relevant with A- and B-share markets, while it is partially relevant with the H-share market. The paper finds that the converged IFRS with CAS is more value relevant in A-shares and B-shares and it is partially more value relevant with the H-share market. These findings have implications for both policymakers and investors since they provide further empirical evidence for the current policy procedure which harmonizes local GAAP with IFRS.     

The effect of market segmentation on stock prices: The China syndrome

China has an A-share market that is open only to local investors and a B-share market that is open only to foreign investors. Contrary to what has been observed in other markets with a similar segmented structure, the China B shares trade at a discount relative to the A shares. We show that the phenomenon can still be explained by basic economic principles. Specifically, the existence of the H-share and the “red-chip” markets in Hong Kong provide good substitutes for the B-share market. We find that when more H shares and red chips are listed in Hong Kong, the B-share discount becomes larger. This is consistent with the model of differential demand elasticity proposed by Stulz and Wasserfallen (Stulz, R., Wasserfallen, W., 1995. Review of Financial Studies 8, 1019–1057).     

Transaction Volume and Price Dispersion in the Presale and Spot Real Estate Markets

Noise trading has been intensively studied in finance, but rarely in real estate. Theories of price dispersion have also been well established in retailing research, but less so in real estate. This paper is the first attempt to study the effect of noise trading on price dispersion in the real estate spot and presale (forward) markets. Quality-controlled price dispersion data series are estimated using a sample of transaction data in the housing presale and spot markets in Hong Kong. Our results show that transaction volume has a negative and significant effect on price dispersion in the spot market, but a positive and significant effect in the presale market. These support our conjecture that there are more noise traders in the presale market due to lower transaction costs. The volume effects also provide support for the use of a volume weighted least squares model when constructing a repeat sales index.     

Long-run equilibrium, short-term adjustment, and spillover effects across Chinese segmented stock markets and the Hong Kong stock market

This paper adopts a novel FIVECM-BEKK GARCH approach to examine the bilateral relationships among the A-share and B-share stock markets in China and the Hong Kong stock market. The evidence shows that these stock markets are fractionally cointegrated. Analyses of the spillover effects across these markets indicate that the A-share markets are most influential. The relaxation of government restrictions on the purchase of B shares by domestic residents accelerates the market integration process of A-share markets with the B-share and Hong Kong markets. The effects of the Asian crisis on the stock-return dynamic correlations vary across these markets.     

Explaining share price disparity with parameter uncertainty: Evidence from Chinese A- and H-shares

The price disparity between the A- and H-share markets for dual-listed firms in China is one of the most intriguing puzzles in the Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets. In this paper, we revisit this price disparity puzzle using the channel of parameter uncertainty. In the presence of information asymmetry and market segmentation, investors have different views on a firm’s asset volatility, and hence different valuations of the same reference firm. We estimate a structural model for equity pricing using a Bayesian approach, in which the uncertainty of investor model parameters is represented by the posterior standard deviation of the firm’s asset volatility. Our regression analysis shows that in addition to other market-based and macro factors, parameter uncertainty explains variations in price disparity.     

Trading costs and price discovery

The price discovery roles of a set of related markets or securities have been investigated in many different settings where trading costs effect is often commingled with other trading arrangement factors. In Hong Kong, regular futures and mini futures contracts as well as their underlying spot asset are all traded on a same electronic trading platform. The trading arrangements thus provide us with a unique setting where we can isolate the impacts of transaction costs on price discovery. Using Hasbrouck’s (J Finance 50:1175–1199, 1995) information share approach, it is found that in Hong Kong, the regular futures contracts market plays a dominant role in price discovery while the mini futures and cash index markets play minor roles. The results in this paper provide an unequivocal support to the trading costs hypothesis.     

Causality and cointegration of stock markets among the United States,Japan and the South China Growth Triangle

This paper explores the causality and cointegration relationships among the stock markets of the United States, Japan and the South China Growth Triangle (SCGT) region. Applying the recently advanced unit root and cointegration techniques that allow for structural breaks over the sample period (October 2, 1992 to June 30, 1997), we find that there exists no cointegration among these markets except for that between Shanghai and Shenzhen. By invoking the Granger causality test and considering the non-synchronous trading problem, we will show that stock price changes in the US have more impact on SCGT markets than do those of Japan. More specifically, price changes in the US can be used to predict those of the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets on next day. Similarly, price changes on the Hong Kong stock market lead the Taiwan market by 1 day. Furthermore, the stock returns of the US and Hong Kong markets are found to be contemporaneous. Finally, there is a significant feedback relationship between the Shanghai and the Shenzhen Stock Exchanges.     

Stock market closure and intraday stock index futures market volatility: “contagion”, bid–ask bias or both?

Chang et al. [Journal of Business 68 (1) (1995) 61] examine the impact of the closure of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on S&P500 stock index futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. They document a decline in futures market volatility immediately after the close of the NYSE, and an increase 15 minutes later when the futures market closes. They attribute this to contagion–i.e. a decline in information transfer from equities to futures markets following the closure of the underlying market. This paper examines the impact of the extension of trading hours in Hang Seng Index futures traded on the Hong Kong Futures Exchange on the 20 November, 1998 to 15 minutes after the close of the underlying market (the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong). Using the unique natural experiment provided by this change, a pattern similar to US markets is documented for the Hang Seng Index Futures following the change in trading hours. This provides strong evidence that the intraday pattern in volatility is caused by market closure. Unlike US futures exchanges, price reporters on the floor of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange collect quote data in addition to trade data. This data facilitates a test of another plausible microstructure explanation for the observed behaviour–bid–ask bounce associated with trading activity. This paper provides evidence that bid–ask bounce also explains part of the observed intraday behaviour in price volatility.     

The influence of cultural factors on price clustering: Evidence from Asia–Pacific stock markets

Price clustering is the tendency of prices to be observed more frequently at some numbers than others. It increases with haziness, or imprecision, about underlying value. Most research on price clustering has been conducted in Western financial markets, where there is manifest preference for trading at round numbers.We focus on number preferences under Chinese culture. Many Chinese believe some numbers are “unlucky” and to be avoided. For instance, the number 4 is inauspicious because the Cantonese pronunciation of 4 is similar to the phrase “to die”. We first document clustering of daily closing prices on six Asia–Pacific stock markets, three with predominantly Chinese populations. Next, we fit binomial logit models within these markets to estimate the association between structural and economic factors, and culture, on price clustering. We find some support for the influence of Chinese culture and superstition on year-round number preferences of traders, but it is located solely in the Hong Kong market. Furthermore, in the Hong Kong market Chinese culture and superstition help explain the increased avoidance of the number 4 during the auspicious Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn festivals.     

Underpricing of homecoming A-share IPOs by Chinese firms already listed abroad

Many Chinese firms have pursued overseas listings in Hong Kong or US without being first listed in China’s domestic market, mainly due to the regulatory constraints imposed by the Chinese government. Some of them eventually returned to mainland China through an A-share offering to Chinese investors. This unique feature of cross-listed Chinese stocks offers an experiment field to test some of the conventional theories of initial public offerings (IPOs) underpricing. Homebound IPOs are expected to be less underpriced than domestic only IPOs that are not cross-listed because being already listed in a developed market can mitigate the information asymmetry and issue uncertainty associated with their A-share IPOs. Nevertheless, we find that homecoming A-share IPOs are still substantially underpriced, with an average market adjusted first-day return of 96.53 %. Furthermore, their first-day returns are not significantly different from those of domestic only IPOs once firm- and offer-characteristics are controlled. This is in sharp contrast to the lukewarm aftermarket performance experienced in their overseas debuts. The mean market adjusted first-day return is merely 5.35 % in their US ADR offerings and 11.63 % in their Hong Kong H-share IPOs. Overall, our results suggest the importance of local market structures and norms as influential factors of IPO underpricing.     

How cross-listings from an emerging economy affect the host market?

We study the impact of mainland Chinese listings in Hong Kong on the quality and development of the Hong Kong equity market. At the macro-level, we find that the increasing presence of mainland Chinese stocks in Hong Kong increases the size, trading volume, and its link with the China and world markets but reduces the overall volatility of the Hong Kong stock market. At the firm level, the increase affects the market quality, resulting in lower turnover rate, higher Amihud illiquidity ratio, and higher spread for non-mainland Chinese firms. Furthermore, such an increase in presence causes Hong Kong stocks to move in a more synchronized way and reduces these firms investment sensitivity to stock price movement, implying deterioration in the information environment. As a whole, the increasing presence of Chinese companies in Hong Kong brings benefits to the Hong Kong market, yet not without cost.     

Determinants and consequences of voluntary switches to Chinese auditors in Hong Kong

Hong Kong market regulators have permitted 12 large Chinese accounting firms to audit the financial statements of Chinese firms that cross list in Hong Kong (i.e., H-share firms) since 2010. This paper examines the characteristics of H-share firms that voluntarily replaced their Hong Kong (HK) auditors with Chinese auditors, and the market reaction to auditor switches following this policy. We find that 38 out of 147 H-share firms voluntarily switched to Chinese auditors during 2011–2013. Switching firms are larger in size and are less likely to use Big4; they also have less need for external financing, a longer cross listing history, and a lower percentage of foreign revenue. We also find that investors negatively react to the auditor switches from HK non-Big4 to China non-Big4, but do not react to the auditor switches from HK Big4 to China Big4. This suggests that investors perceived lower audit quality for China non-Big4.     

Do the Forward Sales of Real Estate Stabilize Spot Prices?

We examine the effect of forward sale (pre-sale) activities on the volatility of spot prices in the real estate market. The abundance of pre-sales data and major changes in regulatory control on the pre-sale market during the 90's in Hong Kong allow us to undertake empirical tests using Hong Kong's real estate data. Our results show that the volatility of spot prices increased significantly after forward sales were severely dampened by regulatory control measures introduced in 1994, but decreased again when the measures were partly relaxed in 1998. The results contribute to the long lasting debate on whether the introduction of a futures market reduces the volatility of spot prices. Previous studies were mainly conducted in markets with low transaction costs, notably financial markets. By utilizing the unique regulatory changes in the pre-sale market of Hong Kong, we are able to conduct an experiment on the conditional volatility of spot prices in a high information-cost environment, thereby shedding light on the important role of forward housing contracts in providing price expectation information for spot trading.     

Price and trading volume reaction: the case of Hong Kong companies’ earnings announcements

In this paper, we investigate the price changes and trading volume reactions during the days surrounding the announcements of annual earnings based on a 31-day observation window for a sample of Hong Kong firms listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK). The major findings of our study: (1) materially support the findings of Morse (1981), (2) demonstrate significant price and volume reactions over four days surrounding the annual earnings announcement over the years 1992 to 1995, (3) show similar market reaction for Blue Chip stocks compared to Non–Blue Chip stocks, and (4) indicate a larger overall price reaction for Non–Blue Chip stocks and mixed results regarding volume reaction when comparing the Blue Chip and Non–Blue Chip stocks. These results show that, although the Hong Kong results are largely in line with the U.S. and international evidence, the Blue Chip stocks are followed more and remain the mainstream stocks for Hong Kong investors.     

Japan and Hong Kong Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): Discounts, Returns, and Trading Strategies

Foreign exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trade on U.S. exchanges but provide broad exposure to foreign markets. ETFs are designed to minimize the deviation between price and value of the underlying securities. However, nonoverlapping trading hours between the United States and many foreign markets inhibit this mechanism. The data for Japan and Hong Kong iShares show that deviations exist between the ETF price and the value of the underlying securities. The deviations are positively related to subsequent ETF returns creating potential profit opportunities. A simple trading rule based on this observation produces impressive gross returns when compared to a buy-and-hold strategy.     

Market reactions to a cross-border carbon policy: Evidence from listed Chinese companies

The effects of cross-border carbon policy have attracted increasing attention worldwide. We investigate the reaction of the Chinese stock market to the announcements of 12 legislative events associated with the European Union Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM). Our results, based on all industrial companies listed on China's Shenzhen or Shanghai Stock Exchanges, show that Chinese companies that export their products to the EU experience a more negative cumulative abnormal return around EU CBAM events than their counterparts (non-export companies and non-EU export companies). A cross-sectional analysis reveals that negative stock market reactions to the legislative events are greater when companies have greater carbon emissions intensity. Our further analyses show that being listed in both A-share and H-share markets, participating in a carbon emissions trading scheme, and having intensive cross-border collaboration mitigate the adverse market reactions. Our results show that the Chinese market is sensitive to legislative announcements associated with this cross-border carbon policy.     

The Response of Dynamic Herd Behavior to Domestic and U.S. Market Factors: Evidence from the Greater China Stock Markets

ABSTRACT

We investigate the dynamic reaction of stock market herding in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to unexpected shocks from domestic and U.S. market factors. In China and Taiwan, herding is more pronounced, and the investors tend to herd with the rising stock market returns. Overconfident investors will herd on the subsequent trading days under market stress. Compared with the response to the domestic market factors, the responses of herding in the Greater China stock market to the U.S. market factors are weaker. After the 2007–8 financial crisis, the U.S. market factors highly explain the forecast error variance of herding in the Shanghai A-share and Taiwan markets.