Ownership structures and the leverage of listed firms in China

In this paper the relationship between leverage, performance and a firm’s ownership structure is investigated. It is an exploratory study based on listed firms in China, that is all firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 1999 to 2005. The results of an empirical analysis of ownership structures and the leverage are reported in this paper. The most significant result is that foreign holdings are found to have a significant relationship with the leverage of listed firms in China. Whereas, somewhat unexpectedly, institutional ownership, through Legal Person holding companies, state ownership and private holdings are not found to have a significant relationship with the capital structure choices of firms in China. The results also suggest that some firm-specific factors that are relevant for explaining firm leverage generally referred to in studies in developed economies, such as profitability, growth opportunities, size and tax shields, are also relevant in China. The age of the firms and the industry to which they principally belong also has significant bearing. Yet direct government grants and the use of an internationally renowned auditing firm do not show a significant relationship

Comparison of five different RNA sources to examine the lactating bovine mammary gland transcriptome using RNA-Sequencing.

The objective of this study was to examine five different sources of RNA, namely mammary gland tissue (MGT), milk somatic cells (SC), laser microdissected mammary epithelial cells (LCMEC), milk fat globules (MFG) and antibody-captured milk mammary epithelial cells (mMEC) to analyze the bovine mammary gland transcriptome using RNA-Sequencing. Our results provide a comparison between different sampling methods (invasive and non-invasive) to define the transcriptome of mammary gland tissue and milk cells. This information will be of value to investigators in choosing the most appropriate sampling method for different research applications to study specific physiological states during lactation. One of the simplest procedures to study the transcriptome associated with milk appears to be the isolation of total RNA directly from SC or MFG released into milk during lactation. Our results indicate that the SC and MFG transcriptome are representative of MGT and LCMEC and can be used as effective and alternative samples to study mammary gland expression without the need to perform a tissue biopsy

Determinants of bank credit growth in Australia: Effects of securitisation and the Global Financial Crisis

Global financial markets have changed dramatically over recent decades. One of the most substantial changes is the now widespread use of securitisation in the financial system. Banking institutions are turning from interest-dependent returns or interest-based spread to fee-based activities, including lines of credit and many different forms of credit guarantees, adjusting to the altered financial environment in which they operate. Given the recent Global Financial Crisis (GFC), this study focuses on the benefits and costs of asset securitisation as a funding tool for modern financial institutions. The study addresses the important issue of the financial excesses that resulted in recession and high unemployment rates, not seen for decades in most of the Western world. This study evaluates the effect of using asset securitisation and other lending determinants on bank credit growth of banking institutions operating in Australia, both local and foreign. The study classifies the determinants into supply-side determinants, which are internal or bankspecific characteristics, and demand-side determinants, which are external or macroeconomic determinants. Credit growth is used as a proxy for operational performance, represented by two key indicators (dependent variables): business credit activity and housing credit activity. Each of these indicators has different measures. Data from a sample of 35 banking institutions was collected over three distinct periods between 2004 and 2012. Of the banks, 10 are domestic banks, of which six securitise assets. None of the 25 foreign banks, a mix of subsidiary and branches, securitise assets. Panel data methods are employed to conduct the analysis. A random effects regression model is used to analyse the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variables. The business credit activity indicator is measured by credit growth, business loans growth and credit card loans growth. Housing credit activity is measured by housing loans growth, housing loans owned growth, housing loans investment growth and housing loans others growth. The explanatory variables used in this study's regression models are financial and economic indicators; that is, supply-side determinants (bank size, total deposits, liquid ratio and asset securitisation) and demand-side determinants (growth of Gross Domestic Product [GDP], inflation rate, interest rate and unemployment rate). When examining the determinants on the supply side, the results of the analysis are mixed regarding the effect of securitisation on bank credit growth; but, as expected, most of the empirical results confirm that securitising assets does not have a significant positive effect on credit growth in any of the three GFC periods considered (crisis or no-crisis periods). The proposition was that large banks are likely to be more efficient and able to acquire funds at a lower cost due to the amount of collateral they can provide. However, the empirical results inconsistently support this proposition. Total deposits have a significant effect from the perspective of securitising assets as an alternative and additional funding source that can be used to cover credit demand. Neither the asset securitisation nor liquidity ratio had a significant effect on bank credit growth. In contrast, the results for demand-side determinants show that interest rate and unemployment rate have a significant negative effect on credit growth. The inflation rate has a positive significant effect on credit growth. There is no effect of GDP. Securitisation activities enable the banking sector to better diversity their financial resources base as well as add flexibility to their financial resources and loan portfolio, enabling them to better cope with challenges arising in their operational environment. However, the random effects estimates in the study show that banking institutions do not, in fact, gain benefits from securitising assets. Asset securitisation contributes to creating a more integrated market by providing new categories of financial assets that suit investor's preferred investment risk profile by increasing their capacity. If banking institutions know which factors are most likely to enhance their credit growth this could lead to increased competition in the marketplace, assisting in keeping prices low on the supply side of credit and thus encouraging growth in the business sector, which will drive job creation, resulting in a decrease in the unemployment rate

Foreign direct investment and emerging markets: A study of direct investment in Thailand with a focus on Australian investment

Thailand has experienced significant economic improvement and has become one of the key economic centres of Southeast Asia. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the most obvious contributors to this performance as it is generally agreed that it has contributed to Thailand's development significantly. The purpose of this study is to provide an introduction to and demonstrate the feasibility of FDI in Thailand. Early studies are discussed in an introduction leading to the motivation and research question of this study. The literature review related to Foreign Direct Investment provides the theoretical framework for the study. This plus the context of the study in Thailand as outlined lead to the methodology of this study, then consideration of the empirical results. And finally, to the implications of the research are highlighted. This thesis focuses on the determinants of FDI in Thailand applying the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test to analyse quarterly data over two and a half decades during the period 1991-2015, to consider the major problems relating to the current endeavour to study "the influences on investors to investment in Thailand with reference to the effective factors for decision-making and with suggestions for development of FDI." In addition, the study also develops this finding to the top ten main countries, including Australia, that invest in Thailand. The primary findings show cost, production efficiency seekers, and political instability, affect the investors' decisions in investing in Thailand. However, GDP and trade openness did not affect in this study. For Australia, as the country of interest, trade openness and cost affect the Australian investors’ decisions in investing in Thailand. Importantly, Japan as the biggest investor to invest in Thailand had a similar result

Local Governments as 'Place-shapers': Exposition, Critique and Investigations in Australian Politics

Australian local government continues to struggle to find a distinctive role in Australia's federal democracy, being conceptualised as an instrumental, rather than a political institution by both state and federal tiers of Australian government. This thesis argues that, by way of comparative analysis, place-shaping as developed by the Lyons Inquiry into local government in England points the way to a reinvigorated Australian local government sector, entailing not merely instrumental responsibilities and roles of political representation, but also ideational roles in the forms of history, locale and identity which can significantly assist in local government fulfilling it potential. This does not necessary entail that in searching out options for reform, state and federal government ought to pursue all avenues for increased leadership at the local level, nor increased devolution to the local level of political authority. On the contrary: As the analysis of the thesis suggests, there is room for caution, if not conservativism, in this regard. Further, as the thesis demonstrates, reforms to Australian local government have seen it move toward incorporating some elements of place-shaping as a mode of local government reform, as developed here. Nevertheless, it is the ideational and symbolic elements of local government which need to be encouraged if its promise is to be realised

One board for mission, another board for margin: Exploring two-tiered boards and links to not-for-profit organizational performance

Not-for-profit organizations are trusted by donors to provide essential services, with not-for-profit board directors ultimately accountable for organizational performance. Yet links between corporate governance and organizational performance are tenuous, and there is no consensus on how not-for-profit performance should be measured. This thesis reports on exploratory research of an elite group of Australian not-for-profit hospital board directors practicing corporate governance through two-tiered boards, which are common in Germanic influenced corporate governance systems but rare in Anglo-US environments. The thesis quantifies the previously unrecognised use of two-tiered board governance by Australian not-for-profit hospitals and identifies different governance factors perceived by board directors for their potential to contribute to not-for-profit organizational performance

The causal relationship between stock market development, bank development, Islamic and conventional insurance development, and economic growth: The Case of Malaysia

This thesis examines the causal relationships among bank development, stock market development, conventional insurance, Islamic insurance, and economic growth in Malaysia using annual data for the period from 1975 to 2012. These relationships are studied a using multivariate VAR framework to evaluate long-run relationships among bank development, stock market development, conventional insurance, Islamic insurance, real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, fixed capital formation (FCF), trade openness, and the consumer price index. The study also uses vector error correction model-based (VECM) causality tests to establish long- and short-run causality relationships among bank development, stock market development, conventional insurance, Islamic insurance, and economic growth. It uses four bank development indicators: the ratio of commercial bank assets divided by commercial bank plus central bank assets (BTOT), liquid liabilities (M3), domestic credit to the private sector (DCP), and bank deposit liabilities (LBDL). It further uses the total value traded ratio (VT), turnover ratio (TR), number of listed companies (LC), market capitalization (MC), and total capital raised in the primary market (IPOs) as indicators for stock market development. It also uses five variables representing conventional insurance, specifically gross premium income (life insurance), gross premium income (non-life insurance), life insurance penetration, non-life insurance penetration, and non-life insurance density, and three variables for Islamic insurance: assets of family takaful funds (AFTF), assets of general takaful funds (AGTF), and total contributions by participants in the family takaful (CPFT). The empirical results indicate that the direction of causality among bank development, stock market development, conventional and Islamic insurance, and economic growth in Malaysia is sensitive to the choice of proxy used for bank development, stock market development, conventional insurance, and Islamic insurance

Nepalese Commercial Banks: Performance, Non-performing Loans and Corporate Governance

The purpose of this study is to examine the macro-economic, bank specific and corporate governance determinants of non-performing loans in Nepalese banking. In addition to this, the next objective of the study is to analyze the influence of corporate governance on bank performance in Nepal. The study is to investigate the above objectives in order to improve the means by which commercial banks in Nepal manage their non-performing loans and performance. This will provide guidance for the regulatory bodies in safeguarding the stability and integrity of the Nepalese financial system

Effective corporate governance and the cost of capital and financial performance: An empirical investigation into the peculiar link in Saudi stock market listed firms

Recent decades have experienced a trend in companies implementing scrupulous structures of corporate governance in response to various infamous commercial failings. It is vital that such structures are in place that would enable companies to operate openly and without the danger of being accused of inefficient management. This will help encourage foreign investors in addition to ensuring a healthy and efficient business environment. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of ensuring effective corporate governance mechanisms on the cost of capital and financial performance, focusing on non-financial companies registered with the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange. Saudi Arabia is a developing market in the Gulf region where block-holding ownership dominates the business world. With this peculiar ownership structure, Saudi Arabia was relatively unaffected by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) a quality that allows local companies, with limited influences from the external business world, to be subjected to a deeper analyses with regard to their corporate governance mechanisms and their impact on the cost of capital and financial performance. The agency theory was the primary model used in the development of the conceptual framework for this study with some borrowings from resource dependence and stewardship theories. The outcomes of existing studies in this field are largely inconclusive, with no ongoing research on the relationship between the cost of capital and corporate governance in Saudi Arabia and the limited number of studies examining this relationship between corporate governance and financial performance in the Kingdom. Thus, there is a gap in the research, which this study has aimed to fill. The findings of the current study, in addition to filling the void in the literature, are expected to influence policy-makers, practitioners, and those looking to invest in Saudi Arabian companies by equipping investors with more awareness about the information and security protection provided by the structure of corporate governance in Saudi Arabia. The current study used 84 non-finance companies registered in Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2014. Two prominent issues have been examined in this study: the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and the cost of capital, and the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance. This study employed three regression techniques examine the relationship between corporate governance variables (measured as board structure, audit committees structure, ownership structure) and the cost of capital measured as weighted average cost of capital (WACC) in Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange listed non-finance firms. The three methods of regression included: First the, hypotheses being investigated using a pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. This was followed by panel data models, both random and fixed effects, to control for any unnoticed heterogeneity. Lastly, a generalised least square (GLS) is used to investigate the hypotheses further, this time focusing on the peculiar problems of causality and endogeneity. The results showed that corporate governance mechanisms, such as board size and block ownership, have a significant positive effect on the cost of capital. Nevertheless, board independence has a significant negative effect on the cost of capital, which indicates that these findings align closely with the theoretical underpinnings of agency theory. The financial performance of a company is expressed in this study via return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q. The same three aforementioned methods of regression are adopted here to examine the relationship between the implementation of corporate governance mechanisms and firms’ performance. Results indicated that the governance mechanisms, including foreign ownership, government ownership, board meeting, and audit committee independence have significant positive effects on firm performance. On the other hand, board size, audit committee size and audit committee meetings have a significant negative effect on firm performance. The current study’s findings showed, as suggested by the agency theory, that corporate governance mechanisms and firm performance are clearly interlinked in the context of the emerging market of Saudi Arabia. The findings of the current study are largely aligned with the theoretical underpinnings of agency theory and with the findings of the existing literature in varying world contexts. These findings, due to their close touch with the practical world and relevance to the country’s current business scenario, are expected to be relevant and beneficial for managers, investors, policy-makers and other stakeholders considering involvement with Saudi Arabian companies