The Profitability of Chinese banks: impacts of risk, competition and efficiency

Purpose: This study aims to test the impacts of risk-taking behaviour, competition and cost efficiency on bank profitability in China. Design/methodology/approach: A two-step generalized method of moments system estimator is used to examine the impacts of risk, competition and cost efficiency on profitability of a sample of Chinese commercial banks over the period 2003-2013. Findings: The paper finds that credit risk, liquidity risk, capital risk, security risk and insolvency risk significantly influence the profitability of Chinese commercial banks. To be more specific, credit risk is significantly and negatively related to bank profitability; liquidity risk is significantly and positively related to return on assets (ROA) and net interest margin (NIM) but negatively related to return on equity (ROE); capital risk has a significant and negative impact on ROA and NIM but a positive impact on ROE; there is a significant and negative impact of security risk on bank profitability (ROA and NIM). It is found that Chinese commercial banks with higher levels of insolvency risk have higher profitability (ROA and ROE). Finally, higher competition leads to lower profitability in the Chinese banking industry, and Chinese commercial banks with higher levels of cost efficiency have lower ROA. In other words, the structure–conduct–performance paradigm rather than the efficient–structure paradigm holds in the Chinese banking industry. Originality/value: This is the first paper to investigate the impact of different types of risk, including credit risk, liquidity risk, capital risk, security risk and insolvency risk, on bank profitability. This is the first study which uses more accurate measurements of efficiency and competition compared to previous Chinese banking profitability literature and which tests their impact on bank profitability. The findings not only provide a general picture on the risk, efficiency and competition conditions in the Chinese banking industry, but also give valuable information to the Chinese Government and to the banking regulatory authorities to make relevant policies

The internationalization of Nigerian firms: motivations and location patterns

Despite the increased number of studies of the internationalization of emerging‐market multinationals (EMNCs), Latin American and Asian firms have dominated the focus of such studies, while the study of the internationalization process of sub‐Saharan African firms in the international business literature is quite limited. Therefore, this article examines the motivations and location patterns of the internationalization process of four Nigerian firms through a multiple case study approach. The findings show that the internationalization of the Nigerian firms is a recent phenomenon, but the foreign investment pattern reflects a pan‐African investment strategy. However, the findings also reveal that the firm‐specific advantages that had been accumulated in the domestic market, coupled with home‐country factors and regional‐/host‐market factors, were key determinants of the motivations and location patterns in the internationalization process of Nigerian firms

Sex differences in clinical outcomes following surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement

BACKGROUND: Sex-based differences in clinical outcomes following surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement remain largely uncharacterized; this prospective, multicenter study evaluated these differences both directly and adjusted for covariates. METHODS: Hips undergoing surgical treatment of symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement were prospectively enrolled in a multicenter cohort. Patient demographics, radiographic parameters, intraoperatively assessed disease severity, and history of surgical procedures, as well as patient-reported outcome measures, were collected preoperatively and at a mean follow-up of 4.3 years. A total of 621 (81.6%) of 761 enrolled hips met the minimum 1 year of follow-up and were included in the analysis; 56.7% of analyzed hips were female. Univariate and multivariable statistics were utilized to assess the direct and adjusted differences in outcomes, respectively. RESULTS: Male hips had greater body mass index and larger α angles. Female hips had significantly lower preoperative and postoperative scores across most patient-reported outcome measures, but also had greater improvement from preoperatively to postoperatively. The preoperative differences between sexes exceeded the threshold for the minimal clinically important difference of the modified Harris hip score (mHHS) and all Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) domains except quality of life. Preoperative sex differences in mHHS, all HOOS domains, and Short Form-12 Health Survey physical function component score were greater than the postoperative differences. A greater proportion of female hips achieved the minimal clinically important difference for the mHHS, but male hips were more likely to meet the patient acceptable symptom state for this outcome. After adjusting for relevant covariates with use of multiple regression analysis, sex was not identified as an independent predictor of any outcome. Preoperative patient-reported outcome scores were a strong and highly significant predictor of all outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in clinical outcomes were observed between sexes in a large cohort of hips undergoing surgical treatment of femoroacetabular impingement. Despite female hips exhibiting lower baseline scores, sex was not an independent predictor of outcome or reoperation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence

Transition Economies in the Middle East: the Syrian Experience

There have been no in depth studies of post Socialist transition in the Middle East. Syria’s experience is a useful one to explore given its historically important role in the region and its distinctive characteristics. The Syrian economic transition, from the early 1990s to 2011, was in two phases: an incremental liberalisation phase and a transition to Social Market Economy phase. During both phases, Syrian policy makers showed a preference for a gradualist approach to economic transition, rather than a big-bang approach. This was facilitated by oil revenues and subsidies from the Gulf States. The Syrian experience therefore has its own distinct characteristics, as well as elements in common with the transitions in other post Socialist economies