The role of the stock market in the provision of Islamic development finance: Evidence from Sudan

This paper assesses the impact of stock exchange funding in the Shari'ya compliant Islamic economy of Sudan. Evidence suggests that while Islamic financial instruments have considerable potential in facilitating development finance through their emphasis on partnership this is better achieved by the banking system rather than the Khartoum Stock Exchange. A case study of the Sudan Telecommunications company shows that larger firms able to cross-list elsewhere are likely to choose regional markets in preference to their domestic one thus benefiting from lower costs of equity. However, governance preferences are likely to favour block shareholders following the Islamic finance partnership concept.     

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.     

Volatility spillover and hedging effectiveness among China and emerging Asian Islamic equity indexes

We study the volatility spillover between China and Asian Islamic stock markets. We use a sample of six Islamic MSCI indices from the Asian region, namely China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and Thailand obtained from MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International). In this paper we analyze the importance of considering spillover effects between emerging Asian Islamic indexes based on the Bivariate VARMA-BEKK-AGARCH model of McAleer et al. (2009), which includes spillover and asymmetric effects. We compute after the effectiveness of portfolio diversification based on the conditional volatility of returns series. Results show a significant positive and negative return spillover from China to selected Asian Islamic stock market and bidirectional volatility spillovers between China, Korea and Thailand Islamic market showing evidence of short-term predictability on Islamic Chinese stock market movements. However there is no short term volatility persistence in India, Indonesia and Malaysia. GARCH results show no persistence in volatility spillover effect in long term from Chinese to Indian, Indonesian and Korean Islamic stock market. Our findings are beneficial for international portfolio diversification for policy makers and investors since the results of portfolio management and hedging effectiveness ratio are different to previous studies.     

Islamic business scorecard and the screening of Islamic businesses in a cross‐country setting

Screening of shari'ah compliant firms is incomplete without the inclusion of ethical and social responsibilities. The existing “activity screen” does not directly capture the ethical and social footprints of firms. The purpose of this study is to create and test an Islamic business scorecard that combines activity, ethical, and social responsibilities that Islamic businesses must comply with. This new Islamic business scorecard replaces the existing activity screens and is added to the financial screens to create an integrated business screening mechanism to identify shari'ah compliant firms. This study utilizes data from a sample of 410 shari'ah compliant companies listed with stock exchanges in Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Out of the five newly developed constructs of the Islamic business scorecard, the results indicate Islamic firms are less committed to social responsibilities and tend to push forward economic responsibilities that focus on profitability and growth. Of the three countries, this study reports Malaysian firms have the highest compliance scores, while Bangladesh displays characteristics of the “next‐big shari'ah destination”. Financial screens are more important than the Islamic business scorecard for firms in the construction, industrial, technology, and trading/services sectors. Because of its connection with the economic, ethical, and social dimensions, the scorecard helps to identify the true nature of shari'ah compliance as a useful decision tool for investors and policymakers.     

Extreme dependence and risk spillovers between oil and Islamic stock markets

This paper examines the downside and upside risk spillovers and dependence structure between five Islamic stock markets (the Islamic Market World index, Islamic indices of USA, UK, Japan and the Islamic Financials sector index) which are of paramount importance for faith-oriented investors and particpants in the oil market. The results underscore the presence of time-varying lower tail dependence between the oil and Islamic stock markets. Furthermore, we provide supportive evidence of asymmetric down- and up-side risk spillovers from oil to the Islamic stock markets and vice versa. Finally, these asymmetric risk spillovers have significantly increased after the global financial crisis.     

Examining Impact of Islamic Work Ethic on Task Performance: Mediating Effect of Psychological Capital and a Moderating Role of Ethical Leadership

The twenty-first century has seen an increase in ethical misconduct at the workplace, highlighting the need to stimulate discussion on the role of work ethics. The objective of the current study is to extend the literature on work ethics by examining the role of Islamic work ethic in enhancing the task performance of employees. The current study proposes that psychological capital mediates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and task performance. It is also proposed that ethical leadership might act as a boundary condition that boosts the positive relationship between Islamic work ethic and psychological capital. Data were collected in three-time lags from employees working in the service sector of Pakistan (N?=?218) through the questionnaire. The results supported the mediation and moderation hypothesis, confirming that psychological capital mediates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and task performance. Ethical leadership moderates the relationship between Islamic work ethic and psychological capital. The results offer implications for theory and practice. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

     

Does Shari’ah Screening Cause Abnormal Returns? Empirical Evidence from Islamic Equity Indices

Islamic equity funds are subject to the screening criteria for stock selection imposed by the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Shari’ah). Equities must pass three basic screens: revenue source, business activity, and financial factors to be included in an Islamic fund. However, screening criteria are not universal especially for the financial factors. One can use financial ratios based on either the book-value of total assets or the market-value of equity for screening of stocks. This may not only result in a different portfolio composition but also entail diverse rebalancing and monitoring costs. The performance of 29 Islamic equity indices (IEIs) versus conventional indices from four major international index providers using different Shari’ah screening criteria are analyzed in a single as well as in a multi-equation framework. The use of a multi-equation framework has the added advantage of utilizing the information content of different screening criteria adopted by different index providers. The empirical findings suggest that the difference in screening criteria does not significantly affect the performance of IEIs. Returns deviation, if any, stems from the relative riskiness of the IEI as compared with the relevant benchmark. Work needs to done to streamline the quantitative screening criteria to avoid confusion among the investing public.     

Religion, Ethics and Stock Trading: The Case of an Islamic Equities Market

Islamic banking, based on the prohibition of interest, is well established throughout the Muslim world. Attention has now turned towards applying Islamic principles in equity markets. The search for alternatives to Western style markets has been given added impetus in Muslim countries by the turmoil in Asian financial markets in 1997. Common stocks are a legitimate form of instrument in Islam, but many of the practices associated with stock trading are not. In this paper the instruments traded and the structure and practices of stock markets are examined from an Islamic perspective. Speculation is not acceptable in Islam and measures would have to be taken to control speculative trading. In addition short selling and margin trading are severely restricted. The use of stock index and equity futures and options are also unlikely to be acceptable within an Islamic market. Regulatory authorities in Muslim countries will therefore find a vast array of problems in attempting to structure a trading system that will be acceptable.     

Islamic Religious Atmosphere and Audit Pricing: Evidence from Iran

This study examines whether the Islamic religious atmosphere of local communities influences audit pricing. We use a comprehensive survey conducted by Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to measure the Islamic religious atmosphere. Using a sample of 1,204 observations from firms listed in Iran's capital market, we find that firms located in regions with a strong Islamic religious atmosphere pay significantly lower audit fees. Furthermore, the study reveals that family ownership (auditor size) strengthens (weakens) the aforementioned relationship. However, we did not find a significant moderating role for the local community's social capital. We contribute to the ethics literature by providing a better understanding of the economic consequences of the religious atmosphere and offering policy, practical, and educational implications.     

Islamic legal methodologies and Shariah screening standards: Application in the Indonesian stock market

This article provides a framework for applying the principles of Islamic legal methodology to determine the optimal Shariah screening standards for Islamic equity markets. It is argued that using maslahah mursalah (unrestricted benefit) is an appropriate method for identifying appropriate financial standards and its principles stipulate that the benchmark that yields the best economic returns to investors should be chosen. The methodological framework is applied to the Indonesia equity market where the economic implications of the Islamic stock screening standards of the Indonesian Islamic Shariah Stock Index and four global indices are assessed. Portfolios are constructed by applying Islamic stock screening standards for each of the indices by using data on 377 stocks listed in the Indonesian stock market for 5 years. The performances measured by the Sharpe ratio, Treynor index, and Jensen alpha reveal that the Dow Jones Islamic Index screening criteria performs the best. Based on the method of maslahah mursalah, the article recommends using the screening standard of this index in the Indonesian stock market to maximize benefits to investors. While the approach used in this article is applied to Islamic equity markets, the methodological framework can also be used for other similar cases in Islamic finance.     

African equity markets : Testing Latin America's path

Equity Market opportunities and Sub-Saharan Africa have long been mutually exclusive propositions. However, recent developments are hinting at future profits to be reaped in the region. By year-end, over a dozen countries will have formal capital markets, and a handful more are in the process of setting up stock exchanges. Kleiman and Morrissey provide an overview of recent reforms and trends that will shape the region's capital markets into the next century.     

The determinants of Islamic bank capital decisions

We report new evidence on the bank and institutional determinants of Islamic bank capital ratios in 28 countries between 1999 and 2013. Overall, we find that smaller, more profitable, and highly liquid Islamic banks are more highly capitalized. Additionally, improvements in the economic and financial environments and market discipline within a country correspond with higher Islamic bank capitalization. The results shed light on the impact that Sharia'a law restrictions have on Islamic banking capitalization. Our findings are most robust to banks that choose to hold capital well in excess of that required by regulators, consistent with traditional capital structure theory. Our results highlight the role that stable economic and political systems play in improving bank capitalization and reducing financial sector risk. By reducing political instability and corruption, improving legal systems, and encouraging access to capital markets, policymakers may incentivize managers to make financing decisions that increase the capitalization of the Islamic banking industry in developing countries.     

A secure,real-time stock market protocol

Stock markets constitute the largest electronic commerce market in the world. The tremendous growth in trading volume and the need for fast and accurate transaction execution has made the stock market one of the most technology friendly markets. The fastest growing stock exchange, NASDAQ, is a wholly electronic stock exchange with all transactions conducted over computer networks. However, the transaction model used by NASDAQ and other electronic stock markets still borrows heavily from the older traditional models used by non-electronic stock exchanges. Two important requirements of modern day stock market transactions are: (a) customer's ability to place sophisticated transaction orders to buy/sell stock, and (b) customer's ability to detect transaction delays. Modern electronic stock exchanges lack both the ability to place newer, more sophisticated transaction orders and the ability to detect delays in transaction execution. In this paper, we propose a protocol for stock market transaction that can model a new sophisticated model for transaction orders while continuing to support traditional transaction orders. The protocol is augmented with a mechanism to detect delays in transaction execution. It is further shown that the protocol proposed is secure, atomic, anonymous, private, and incurs low overhead costs. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

我国公司交叉上市行为研究

公司基于诸如融资需求、提高公司治理和管理水平、提升公司国际知名度和品牌价值等多种因素的考虑,纷纷进入国际或国内资本市场。而各大主要证券交易所出于自身利益的考虑,不断吸引优质潜在上市公司到海外上市,从而推动国内公司交叉上市。深入分析国内公司交叉上市的动因及现状,对我国潜在的交叉上市公司吸取历史经验和教训、进而提升这些企业的价值具有非常重要的现实意义。     

中国人力资本估算及其对中国经济增长的贡献

新经济增长理论认为人力资本对经济增长有着重要贡献,这也为很多实证研究所证实。本文首先使用收入法和教育年限法分别估算中国的人力资本存量。并对两种结果进行比较发现．后者与中国的实际情况更加吻合;随后利用教育年限法的估算结果。基于Johansen方法检验产出、资本总量和人力资本存量之间的协整关系,认为三者之间存在随机性协整关系。最后将人力资本存量分为劳动力和人力资本水平两部分．在协整分析的基础上研究人力资本积累对中国经济增长的贡献。结果表明．改革开放以来,固定资产投资一直是中国经济增长的主要推动力。但人力资本积累对中国经济增长的贡献度显著提高。     

Participation in export and Chinese firms’ capacity utilization

This paper first sets up a firm heterogeneity trade model and shows that given capital stock and productivity, export firms will have higher rates of capacity utilization. In addition, given capital stock and fixed export costs, firms with higher productivity are more likely to export. I then use the 2012 Chinese enterprise survey from the World Bank to empirically investigate the impact of participation in export on Chinese firms’ capacity utilization rate. The results show that on average, export firms have capacity utilization rate 1.55–2.01 percent higher than non-export firms, which amounts to 14.6–18.9 percent of the standard deviation of capacity utilization rate in the sample. I also find that firms with a larger part of shares owned by the government have lower capacity utilization. Stronger market competition leads to over-investment and therefore lower capacity utilization rate. Faced with more rigorous labor market regulation, firms will substitute capital for the use of labor, resulting in higher capacity utilization rate.     

网络市场销售下物流配送的零库存控制

"零库存"是一种特殊的库存概念。在网络市场销售下,不以库存形式存在就可以免去企业物流配送中仓库存货的一系列问题,如仓库建设、管理费用、存货维护等费用以及存货占用流动资金和库存物的老化、损失、变质等问题,从而在降低库存的同时不断降低物流配送成本,提高企业核心竞争力,获取最大的利润。因此,应该加强网络市场销售下企业物流配送的零库存控制,本文针对这一问题提出了相关建议。     

中国农民专业合作社股份化的成因探析——基于社员选择的视角

通过对牵头人选择以股份形式组建合作社以及普通农户社员选择加入股份化合作社的动因进行研究,结果表明:具有企业家人才特质和资金资源的牵头人,一方面要求自身的人力资本价值得到实现并参与剩余分配,另一方面以资金投入到合作社的运营中,要求得到社会平均的投资收益,因而他们基于利益驱动选择以缴纳股份方式组建合作社;普通社员希望享有股份化合作社提供的各种优势资源,以降低风险、提高收益和降低成本,因此也愿意选择加入股份合作社。     

Drivers of the cost of capital: The joint role of non-financial metrics

Recent marketing studies suggest that non-financial metrics, such as customer satisfaction and brand value, help explain the variation in the cost of equity and the cost of debt. These studies typically focus on only one non-financial metric and one component of capital cost. In this study, we broaden the understanding of the relevance of non-financial metrics to the cost of capital. We investigate the joint role of customer satisfaction, brand value, and corporate reputation for stock market beta and credit ratings, which reflect variation in equity and debt risk premiums across firms. In addition to the joint direct influence of these metrics on capital cost, we also study their interaction effects. We develop a conceptual model to explain the effects on capital costs and test the resulting hypotheses in a broad sample of 344 firms from diverse industries using data from the 1991–2006 period.