Market Liquidity, Analysts Coverage, and Ownership Concentration: Evidence From ASE

This research investigates the association between analyst coverage, ownership concentration and market liquidity in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). Using a unique dataset about information asymmetry, several proxies related to the information asymmetry are used to clarify certain aspects of market liquidity. In a sample of 131 companies with comprehensive data collected from company guides and Datastream, information asymmetry measured by analysts’ coverage is found to be an important determinant of market liquidity. In particular, market liquidity is lower where firms have larger analysts coverage and where firms are denoted with high degree of ownership concentration. The effect of analysts coverage is, however, found to be more marked in firms with high levels of ownership concentration. The study provides theoretical and empirical improvement of market liquidity literature towards an understanding of the information asymmetry proxies in ASE. Policymakers, after the 2007-2009 scandal have formed governance codes that highlight the importance of disclosure requirements as key responsibility of financial analysts. The link between analysts coverage and market liquidity established in this research provides evidence for insider investors on the roles and potential effectiveness of analysts in carrying this responsibility

The effect of ownership level, concentration and owners’ identity on market liquidity in the UK capital market

This study investigates the effects of ownership level, concentration and owners’ identity on stock market liquidity in the UK. The study also examines the effect of the recent financial crisis on the relationship between ownership level, concentration, owners’ identity and market liquidity in the UK. The sample includes 226 non-financial companies from the FTSE All-Share Index listed on the London Stock Exchange, over the period between 2003 and 2012. After controlling for two types of Endogeneity, i.e., simultaneity and unobserved heterogeneity, through the application and use of a pooled OLS year and industry dummies, this study finds the evidence suggesting that ownership level, concentration and owners’ identity are important determinants of market liquidity in the UK. The results suggest that insider ownership and ownership concentration are negatively correlated with market liquidity. In contrast, institutional ownership has been identified as positively correlated with market liquidity. While analysing the effect of owners’ identity on market liquidity, it was revealed that executive and non-executive directors’ ownership both decrease market liquidity. The findings also suggest that the existence of controlled shareholders (i.e., investment banks, government, pension fund, and foreign ownership) have a negative impact on firms’ market liquidity. However, the presence of free float shareholders in a firm’s ownership structure has a positive impact on market liquidity. As a result, this study regards the free float shareholders as uninformed investors whereas controlled shareholders and insiders are regarded as informed investors because they have access to a firm’s private information. After considering the effect of financial crisis, it was revealed that both the insider ownership and ownership concentration insignificantly negatively affect market liquidity in the pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis periods of the recent financial crisis. However, institutional ownership had a significantly positive impact on market liquidity during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. With respect to insider identity, both executive and non-executive directors’ ownership have a negative impact on market liquidity. Nevertheless, controlled shareholders (i.e., investment banks, government, employee, pension fund, foreign) ownership had an insignificantly negative impact on market liquidity, whereas free float shares had an insignificantly positive impact on market liquidity during the recent financial crisis. Keeping in mind the importance of market liquidity in the economy, it can be argued that the findings of this research have implications for the current and potential investors, policymakers and practitioners. As a result, the outcome of this study demands that firms should pay more attention to their ownership structure disclosure policy and improve quality of the disclosed information as much as possible

The Effect of Ownership Composition on Stock's Liquidity: Evidence from Weak Corporate Governance Setting

This research seeks to investigate the relationship between ownership composition and stock's liquidity in Jordan's unique corporate setting. A multivariate regression was used to investigate the effect of ownership composition on stock's liquidity for listed Jordanian firms during the period 2006-2014. The research finds that stock's liquidity is higher for listed firms that are owned by government and foreign investors. Nevertheless, the complex pyramidal ownership structure could make corporate information less transparent and then increase the complexity of forecasting; hence, it results in less stock's liquidity. Interestingly, the association between free float ownership and stock's liquidity appears to be positive. The study investigates the effect of ownership structure mechanisms on the stock's liquidity in an emerging market, and the findings provide some insight on how the stock's liquidity might be affected by certain ownership and control features in the context of concentrated government ownership and complex pyramidal ownership structure. Keywords: Ownership, Composition, Stock's Liquidity, Emerging markets. JEL Classifications: G10, G3

Market Liquidity, Analysts Coverage, and Ownership Concentration: Evidence From ASE

This research investigates the association between analyst coverage, ownership concentration and market liquidity in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). Using a unique dataset about information asymmetry, several proxies related to the information asymmetry are used to clarify certain aspects of market liquidity. In a sample of 131 companies with comprehensive data collected from company guides and Datastream, information asymmetry measured by analysts’ coverage is found to be an important determinant of market liquidity. In particular, market liquidity is lower where firms have larger analysts coverage and where firms are denoted with high degree of ownership concentration. The effect of analysts coverage is, however, found to be more marked in firms with high levels of ownership concentration. The study provides theoretical and empirical improvement of market liquidity literature towards an understanding of the information asymmetry proxies in ASE. Policymakers, after the 2007-2009 scandal have formed governance codes that highlight the importance of disclosure requirements as key responsibility of financial analysts. The link between analysts coverage and market liquidity established in this research provides evidence for insider investors on the roles and potential effectiveness of analysts in carrying this responsibility