What drives capital flows? The case of cross-border M&A activity and financial deepening

What key roles do macroeconomic and financial variables play in the foreign direct investment (FDI) decision of firms? This question is addressed in this paper using a large panel data set of cross-border Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deals for the period 1990-1999. Various econometric specifications are built around the simple “gravity model” commonly used in the trade literature. Interestingly, financial variables and other institutional factors seem to play a significant role in M&A flows. In particular, the size of financial markets, as measured by the stock market capitalization to GDP ratio, has a strong positive association with domestic firms investing abroad. This result points to the importance of domestic financial conditions in stimulating international investment during the boom years of 1990s, and accords with the significant drop in cross-border M&As in recent years.     

Home base and knowledge management in international ventures

This paper examines the scope and sequence of international activities carried out by nascent international ventures. Building on earlier research about foreign direct investment (FDI) and knowledge management in international firms and on the analysis of six international ventures the paper develops a number of propositions. We suggest that international ventures are conceived as ‘international’ because cross-border activities increase the chances of venture survival and growth. We also suggest that, in the early stages of international ventures, cross-border activities that augment the venture's knowledge base are more prevalent than cross-border activities that exploit the venture's knowledge base. Finally, the paper points out research trajectories for more detailed studies of knowledge management in international ventures.     

The impact of different kinds of knowledge for the internationalization process of Born Globals in the biotech business

This study explores how different kinds of knowledge of founders and managers at Born Globals are related to the firms’ discovery and exploitation of foreign market opportunities. Based on data from eight biotech Born Globals, we dichotomized Born Globals into two subsets: Born Industrials and Born Academics. The study shows that the founders’ and managers’ different combinations of technological and international knowledge impact the firms’ proactive or reactive behavior in discovering foreign market opportunities. The results indicate that different kinds of Born Globals follow different internationalization processes and that Born Globals, therefore, should not be analyzed as a homogenous group, which has been the common perspective in previous research.     

Similarities and differences among cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI determinants: Evidence from Asia and Oceania

Firms choose either cross-border M&A or greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) when expanding their operations overseas. In this study, by focusing on Japanese firms pursuing FDI in emerging countries in Asia and Oceania, we provide empirical evidence of the similarities and differences in cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI determinants. We derive the following four main conclusions. First, an increase in host-country population size and decreases in per capita income and corporate tax rates generally attract both inward cross-border M&A and greenfield FDI to the host country. Second, however, a home-country firm tends to choose cross-border M&A rather than greenfield FDI when the host country sufficiently implements shareholder rights laws and the firm tends to choose greenfield FDI rather than cross-border M&A when the host country adequately enforces intellectual property rights laws. Third, a firm tends to choose greenfield FDI when the firm already has regional networks in the host country and choose cross-border M&A when the purpose of the firm's overseas operations is to establish sales distribution channels. Finally, a firm pursuing cross-border M&A experiences higher cumulative abnormal returns in its stock prices following the investment, while a firm pursuing greenfield FDI experiences increases in its stock prices immediately before the investment.     

Playing away to win at home

This paper presents a model of the interaction between two rival firms based in the same country. Each firm must decide how to serve a foreign market (export or foreign production) and how much to invest in a corporate-wide asset that reduces production costs and/or augments the willingness-to-pay for their product. In this scenario, the firms’ foreign direct investment decisions are interdependent. Furthermore, strategic motives for FDI relate to a firm's domestic, as well as foreign, market profits. One possibility is that a firm sets up overseas production even though its foreign market profits would be higher by exporting.     

The pecking order of cross-border investment

Is there a pecking order of cross-border investment in that countries become financially integrated through some types of investment rather than others? Using a novel database of bilateral capital stocks for all types of investment - FDI, portfolio equity securities, debt securities as well as loans - for a broad set of 77 countries, we show that such a pecking order indeed exists. The paper focuses on two key determinants of this pecking order: information frictions and the quality of host country institutions. Overall, we find that in particular FDI, and to some extent also loans, are substantially more sensitive to information frictions than investment in portfolio equity and debt securities. We also show that the share as well as the size of FDI that a country receive are largely insensitive to institutional factors in host countries, while portfolio investment is by far the most sensitive to the quality of institutions. This provides new evidence in favor of some hypotheses but contradicts others put forward in the literature on trade in financial assets.     

人民币跨境流动自由度的测算——基于资本项目名义开放指数的借鉴

长期以来,人们只看重货币国际化结果,以占全球贸易计价结算比重、外汇交易比重、国际债券比重、外汇储备比重等相关指标衡量一国货币的国际化程度,而忽视货币跨境流动放松过程,即一国货币的跨境流动自由化程度。货币国际化是一个过程又是一种结果,包含进程和结果两个层面,在货币国际化进程中,过早过快放松本币流出入会引发经济金融风险,某些情形下进程比结果更值得关注。构建人民币跨境自由度指数涉及强度赋值、项目设置和权重确定三方面内容。在梳理2019年第2季度前我国货币政策基础上,对2008年至2019年经常项目下的人民币跨境流动自由度、证券投资项目下的人民币跨境流动自由度以及资本项目下的人民币跨境流动自由度进行评估,并以美国近5年各项目下的资金流动平均占比为权重,构建了人民币跨境流动自由化指数,考察2008—2019年人民币跨境流动自由化程度,结果显示人民币国际化进展较快,跨境流动已得到很大程度放松,而且人民币流入自由程度显著高于流出自由度。我国人民币国际化进程应持续遵循先经常项目后资本项目、先流入后流出、先机构后个人、先大额后小额、先风险小项目后风险大项目的次序,提高人民币跨境流动的稳定性,降低无序流动的投机风险;严格管控证券投资、其他投资、衍生品项目下人民币跨境流动,并依据我国利率市场化程度、金融市场发达程度及审慎监管能力进行调整;大力提升经常项目的人民币结算比重,发展人民币离岸市场,提高非居民间的人民币使用频率和使用规模;充分评估各项目下人民币跨境流动和本外币兑换自由度,提高两者的协同匹配程度,降低因两者不匹配而产生的负面影响。     

Do bilateral investment treaties attract foreign direct investment? The role of international dispute settlement provisions

This paper studies the effects of the strength of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) on foreign direct investment (FDI) activity. We develop an index for the strength of international dispute settlement provisions included in BITs in order to examine the role the content of BITs plays in attracting FDI. To this end, we make use of data from UNCTAD's International Investment Agreement Mapping Project and measure the provision strength of 2,571 BITs. Using panel data of bilateral and total FDI inflows and inward FDI stocks, we study the effect of BITs on FDI. Our main finding indicates that stronger international dispute settlement provisions in BITs are indeed associated with positive effects on FDI activity.     

Religion, Opportunism, and International Market Entry Via Non-Equity Alliances or Joint Ventures

One challenge that globalization has brought to business is that firms, as they expand their market globally through cross-border alliances, need to deal with partner firms from countries of different religious background. The impact of a country’s dominant religion on its firms’ international market entry mode choices has not been examined in traditional approaches. Focusing on hypothesizing the influence of Christian beliefs and atheism (i.e., the absence of belief in any deities), this research aims to fill the gap by exploring religion’s role in providing moral restraint on managers’ propensity for opportunism, which in turn affects these managers’ choices of their firms’ international market entry via non-equity alliances or joint ventures. A study of 22,156 cross-border alliances formed in 48 industries world-wide over 9 years provides new insight toward understanding religion’s influence on firms’ international market entry mode decisions through the ethical dimension of strategic leadership. This article would fit best under the International Management section for reviewing purposes.     

SMEs,foreign direct investment and financial constraints: The case of Belgium

This paper explores the problems experienced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions in gaining access to debt and equity finance for foreign direct investment (FDI) projects. We develop several arguments for why such small businesses are expected to face severe financing constraints for foreign investments and provide an explorative empirical study with both the demand and supply side of FDI finance. We have interviewed thirty-two Belgian SMEs that carry out FDI, five banks and five venture capitalists. Based on the SME discussions, we have composed a questionnaire that was sent to the interviewed SMEs. The information problems and lack of collateral that often characterize international investment, the home bias of financiers and the capital gearing method used by banks to evaluate small firms’ foreign projects give rise to financial constraints for SMEs’ FDI projects. The reported finance gap hinders small firms’ (international) development and leads to suboptimal home and FDI host country development.     

The road to currency internationalization: Global perspectives and chinese experience

This paper studies international currency use in financial transactions. A currency becomes international when it circulates outside of its issuing country, and advances to vehicle currency status if used by non-residents. With currency information from the SWIFT dataset, we estimate a gravity model to explain the geographical distribution of international currency use. A higher level of economic integration and stable macroeconomic conditions increase the international use of major currencies such as USD and EUR. Merchandise trade and portfolio investment are most helpful in increasing the direct use of currency, while foreign direct investment (FDI) has a stronger effect on promoting vehicle use. Merchandise trade improves the intensity of the global use of the Chinese renminbi (RMB), while FDI increases the number of its users. The policy effect on RMB internationalization is significant only in enhancing the intensity of direct use. Furthermore, the global use of RMB is decreasing by distance, implying that its role is more regional. We recommend outward FDI through the Belt and Road Initiative to further promote RMB internationalization.     

The limits of firm-level globalization: Revisiting the FSA/CSA matrix

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) engaging in foreign direct investment (FDI) need advantages allowing them to offset the liability of foreignness in host countries. This liability of foreignness gives rise to additional operational costs related to economic, institutional, and cultural differences between home and host countries. MNEs therefore need to own or control firm-specific advantages (FSAs) that, along with country-specific advantages (CSAs) and internalization advantages, affect international business transactions. In this paper, we revise Rugman’s classic FSA/CSA matrix to better reflect how firms bundle their assets with CSAs. We further contribute to the prior debate on the linkages between the global factory paradigm and internalization theory by empirically evaluating the validity of a key proposition associated with the global factory, namely that FDI becomes relatively less important as a building block of the modern MNE. We do so using data on FDI and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, a major component of FDI.     

FDI and economic growth: the role of local financial markets

In this paper, we examine the various links among foreign direct investment (FDI), financial markets, and economic growth. We explore whether countries with better financial systems can exploit FDI more efficiently. Empirical analysis, using cross-country data between 1975 and 1995, shows that FDI alone plays an ambiguous role in contributing to economic growth. However, countries with well-developed financial markets gain significantly from FDI. The results are robust to different measures of financial market development, the inclusion of other determinants of economic growth, and consideration of endogeneity.     

融资约束与中国企业对外直接投资模式:跨国并购还是绿地投资

本文在Manova(2008)理论研究的基础上,引入绿地投资和跨国并购两种投资方式,发现融资能力强的企业更倾向于选择跨国并购,于是运用2003—2010年中国工业企业中发生跨国并购和绿地投资的企业数据,实证检验融资约束如何影响企业对外直接投资的模式。结果表明:融资约束低的企业选择跨国并购的概率更大,融资约束相对较高的企业则选择绿地投资,具体表现为融资约束降低1%,企业选择跨国并购的概率将增加2.51%;在不同投资动机下,融资约束的影响有所差异,在商贸服务和生产型投资动机下,融资约束低的企业选择跨国并购的概率更大,而技术研发动机下,融资约束则不影响投资模式选择。     

Effects of foreign acquisitions on financial constraints,productivity and investment in R&D of target firms in China

This paper examines whether foreign acquisitions lessen financial constraints, improve investment in research & development (R&D) and productivity of the target firms in China based on a sample of 914 cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CBM&A) over the period of 1994–2011. Using investment to cash-flow sensitivity to measure financial constraints, we find that foreign acquisitions in China are associated with a reduction of target firms’ financial constraints, irrespective of the ownership type of the target firm. However, the extent of financial constraint reduction is pronounced for non-SOEs compared to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This study also provides evidence that foreign acquisitions improve Chinese target firms’ productivity and investment in R&D.     

What lies beneath the euro's effect on financial integration? Currency risk, legal harmonization, or trade?

Although recent research shows that the euro has spurred cross-border financial integration, the exact mechanisms remain unknown. We investigate the underlying channels of the euro's effect on financial integration using data on bilateral banking linkages among twenty industrial countries in the past thirty years. We also construct a dataset that records the timing of legislative-regulatory harmonization policies in financial services across the European Union. We find that the euro's impact on financial integration is primarily driven by eliminating the currency risk. Legislative-regulatory convergence has also contributed to the spur of cross-border financial transactions. Trade in goods, while highly correlated with bilateral financial activities, does not play a key role in explaining the euro's positive effect on financial integration.     

Religion and foreign direct investment

This study examines the effect of religion on foreign direct investment (FDI). Using a large sample of directional FDI flows and religious data between 1985 and 2019, we calculate the religious distance between home and host countries and find that FDI flows are smaller for country pairs with greater religious distance. This finding remains intact after a host of variables affecting FDI are controlled. Moreover, the negative effect of religious differences is less pronounced if the host country has higher religious diversity or both countries have a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) in force. Finally, we construct a country-level measure for religiosity and find an asymmetric effect of religiosity on FDI flows. Overall, our study suggests that both religious differences and the level of religiosity play important roles in explaining international FDI flows. (JEL F21, F41, Z12)     

The Role of Geography in Financial and Economic Integration: A Comparative Analysis of Foreign Direct Investment,Trade and Portfolio Investment Flows

The objective of this paper is to examine the role of geography in explaining the patterns of financial and economic integration among both developed and developing countries. Using a gravity model, we compare North‐North, North‐South and South‐North FDI, trade and portfolio investment flows to examine how geographical factors influence these bilateral flows. The results indicate that the impact of geography variables on FDI and portfolio are similar to their effect on trade. Geography variables have a statistically significant effect both on FDI and portfolio investment, but FDI is more sensitive to distance. We interpret the negative effect of distance as the existence of information costs in financial flows. Also bilateral FDI, trade and portfolio investment flows react to macroeconomic fundamentals in the same way, however, with different degrees of sensitivity. There are significant differences between North‐North and North‐South flows. Our results find support for the argument that most FDI among industrial countries are horizontal, whereas most FDI investment in developing countries is vertical. The fact that the significance of geographical variables on financial flows still remained even after controlling for the macroeconomic fundamentals, is in contrast with the standard capital market model. The results can, however, be reconciled if geographical factors can proxy for information costs, which may in turn explain why country portfolios are still home‐biased. The significant effect of distance on financial flows may also explain how idiosyn cratic shocks are spread (i.e. contagion) to other countries in the same region. Ultimately, the geographical location of a country may determine its economic and financial integration into the world economy.     

Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions Policy in Service Markets

We provide facts showing that in service markets: (i) restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) are under reform, (ii) cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions dominate as the entry mode of FDI, and (iii) there is often a high market concentration. Based on these facts, we present a model for analyzing cross-border merger and acquisition policy in liberalized service markets taking into account efficiency and market power effects. Our findings suggest that a merger policy, but not a discriminatory policy towards foreigners, seems warranted. Moreover, policies ensuring competition for domestic target firms seem warranted. In this vein, harmonization of the EU takeover regulations may particularly benefit assets owners in countries with many target firms.     

全球风险视角下的FDI发展趋势及对我国的启示

从2008年世界经济和国际金融形势看,全球经济已经进入一个多层面的高风险期。多重因素、多方博弈的结果势必对全球FDI的流量、地区分布等产生重大影响,FDI将呈现投资增速波动化、投资地区扩散化、投资主体和投资方式多元化以及投资领域集中化等新趋势。面对世界经济格局重建、全球产业分工调整的契机,我国应加强对FDI的有效引导和有力监管,"请进来"与"走出去"相结合,促进我国经济社会健康平稳发展。