• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.183-194
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• 2021

This study aimed to examine the effect of corporate characteristics, including the industrial sector and scale of operation, financial leverage, profitability, operating period, and social reputation, on socio-ecological responsibility based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The study was conducted in the Indonesian context. A total of 90 public companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange were selected as samples, with an observation period of 10 years. A univariate regression analysis was applied to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the industrial sector, scale of operation, financial leverage, profitability, operating period, and social reputation of the corporate had a positive effect on socio-ecological responsibility. This study also obtained evidence that there were differences in the level of socio-ecological responsibility among the industrial sectors. The higher the relationship between the industrial sector and the possibility of the emergence of social and environmental issues, the higher the level of corporate socio-ecological responsibility. From a policy perspective, the implication of the results of this study was that it could be used as a consideration by the authorities or regulators in Indonesia, particularly the Financial Services Authority (OJK), in determining specific indicators of socio-ecological responsibility that must be carried out by corporates.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.53-64
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• 2020

We provide one of the first investigation on the impact of the degree of total leverage to the dividend policy of bank. We use a large sample of US bank holding companies from 2000:Q1 to 2017:Q4 to shed light our research question. Our empirical analysis provides consistent evidence that banks with high degree of total leverage (i.e. banks with a relatively high fixed-to-variables costs) are less likely to pay dividends, and they spend a lower fraction of incomes to pay back shareholders, suggesting a higher conservatism in dividend policy of banks subject to high degree of total leverage. The evidence remains unchanged with alternative econometric approaches, alternative measures of dividend policy and degree of total leverage. We further document that this higher conservatism is strengthened for a sample of banks with low franchise value during the financial crises. Our result suggests that the conservatism in dividend policy of banks with high degree of total leverage seems to be related to the precautionary motives aimed at preserving corporate resources under financial distress. Our study contributes to the literature of cost structure and dividend policy by pointing out that the impacts of the degree of fixed-to-variable expenses to dividend policy are extended to the case of banks.

• Korea Real Estate Review
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.23-40
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• 2017

This study examined the motive and incentive for the disposal and purchase of corporate real estate assets based on the various firm characteristics. It was empirically found that firms with a higher leverage ratio, lower cash holdings, and lower sales growth are more likely to dispose of their real estate assets. This implies that financial constraints, internal reserves, and growth opportunities are important factors affecting the corporate decisions regarding the disposal of real estate assets. Meanwhile, it was found that firms with a lower leverage ratio have a higher probability of purchasing real estate assets, suggesting that a stable financial structure enables firms to acquire more of such assets. Using the transaction amount of corporate real estate assets, consistent results were found. While varied opinions on the utilization of corporate real estate assets have been raised, this study broadened the understanding of such by performing rigorous analyses. The result of this study would have practical implications in terms of the introduction of regulations or the establishment of business strategies related to corporate real estate assets.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.91-105
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• 2019

The paper aims to combine balance sheet analysis at the firm level with the International Monetary Fund's public debt sustainability assessment framework to assess state-owned enterprises' (SOE) leverage as a contingent liability to the public sector. Based on company data and the interest coverage ratio as a measure of debt at risk, aggregate baseline scenarios are projected to gauge the magnitude of SOE debt as a contingency. SOE's financial and debt ratios are first bootstrapped to generate firm-level distributions and then averaged into a fan chart of the economy-wide SOE contingent liability. Applied to the People's Republic of China as an example, the study finds that by the end of 2015 SOE leverage had grown to a substantial liability. However arbitrary the assumptions underlying these projections, it would appear that even if authorities had to mop up as much as 20% of SOE debt at risk gone bad, this would have been manageable at roughly 2.7% of the gross domestic product in 2016 or 5.5% by 2021. This projection framework is fully amenable to alternative assumptions and settings, which makes it a useful analytical tool to monitor contingent liabilities from non-financial corporate debt that have been building in emerging and advanced economies alike.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.87-99
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• 2020

The study aims to investigate factors that determine dividend payout policy using 336 non-financial firm year observations covering the period 2005 to 2016 in Malaysia. We found a significant positive relationship between corporate board size, board members average age, board tenure and dividend payout policy. We also found a strong negative effect and statistically insignificant relationship of board diversity, board independence, CEO duality and dividend payout policy. Additional, financial leverage has a negative effect on dividend payout policy. It is also noticed that firms with diverse boards are more likely to pay dividends and tend to pay larger dividends than those with non-diverse boards. Our results suggest that board diversity has a significant impact on dividend payout policy. Impact of board diversity on dividend payout policy is particularly conspicuous for firms with potentially greater agency problems. Our findings are consistent with the argument that corporate board traits enhancement positively affect the dividend payout policy which is beneficial for shareholders. This study offers useful insights into the current global debate on board traits and its implications for firms. The dividend payout policy signals good news to investors. Corporate board traits and firm's financial decision are the factors that disrupt the dividend decision.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.177-184
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• 2020

This paper analyzes factors affecting corporate investment decisions in economic groups listed on the Vietnam stock market. The panel data of the research sample includes 39 economic groups listed on the Vietnam stock market from 2009 to 2019. The Generalized Least Square (GLS) is employed to address econometric issues and to improve the accuracy of the regression coefficients. In this research, the investment rate is a dependent variable. Cash-flow (CF), Investment opportunities (ROA), Fixed capital intensity (FCI), Leverage (LEV), Sales growth (GR), Size (SZ), Business risk (RISK) are independent variables in the study. The model results show that cash flow and sales growth have the same impact on investment decisions of economic groups in Vietnam. In addition, investment opportunities have a negative impact on the capital investment decisions of economic groups. The remaining factors include fixed capital intensity, leverage, firm size, and business risks that have a weak and insignificant impact on capital investment decisions of economic groups in Vietnam. The findings of this article are useful for business administrators, and helping business managers make the right financial decisions. Besides, the research results are also meaningful to money management agencies. The authors recommend that the State Bank of Vietnam should maintain a sustainable monetary policy.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.93-118
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• 2005

This paper examines credit spreads in Korea corporate market using one of structural models, the mean reverting leverage ratio model (Collin-Dufresne and Goldstein (2001)). Compared to the actual credit spreads, we show that the credit spreads induced by the model are overpredicted. We also investigate the systematic errors that cause the over-pre-diction of credit spreads using the t-test. We show that the systematic errors are affected by the current leverage ratio and asset volatility.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2016

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of corporate governance practices such as (board size, board composition, CEO duality and audit committee) on the performance of selected Pakistani firms. Research design, data, and methodology - This study examines corporate governance structure by using the data of 80 non-financial firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange Pakistan during 2010-2014. Hypotheses of the study were tested by using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Result - The findings indicate that board size and audit committee is positively related to the firm performance (ROA & ROE). In contrast, board composition and CEO duality are negatively related to the firm performance (ROA & ROE). As far as controlling variables is concerned, leverage is negative, whereas firm size is positively related to all measures of performance. Conclusions - Empirical findings concluded that corporate governance practices affect the firm performance. Therefore, it is suggested that managers should understand the governance mechanisms to work more efficiently in the firm.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.15-23
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• 2012

This study is an attempt to explore the nature and characteristics of strategic impact of green strategy by environmental capital, corporate reputation, and technology strengths on the firm's performance across countries. The main question addressed in this paper relates to how corporate sustainability, corporate reputation, technology strength, and capabilities influence the firm's economic performance with respect to diverse dimensions of performance measures including sustained growth through the leading firms across countries in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific countries. Particularly, this study attempts to empirically explore the directions and magnitudes of the operational links between new emerging strategic core competencies (e.g., sustainability green strategy by environmental focus for more sustainable path, corporate reputation by corporate social responsibility and image enhancement, and technology strengths to develop a new product and market) and the firm's economic performance with respect to diverse dimensions of performance such as accounting (ROE and EOA) - and market-based performance (Market value and Tobin's q). Considering all possible limitations that might exist with regard to selected samples and methods, this study demonstrates that environmental sustainability, corporate reputation, technological capabilities and competencies through R&D intensity and patent are most likely to be significantly associated with most market-based performance measures, but the strategic significance of other variables such as capital intensity, leverage, and administrative cost efficiency on performance tends to be different depending on which performance measure is used across different countries with diverse economic and business contexts.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.699-711
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• 2011

This study is to perform several major analyses to find any differences in the leverage between the pre- and post-period of the currency crisis. Moreover, another aspect is to investigate a financial aspect which has received relatively little attention to the firms and/or industries in the emerging capital markets in comparison to those in the advanced markets. The purpose of this empirical study is to confirm whether or not, it is myth or reality that Korean business conglomerate, chaebol, firms with subsidized financing from government-owned domestic financial institutions in the pre-financial turmoil, may still maintain their higher leverage, even after the crisis. It was found that firms belonging to the chaebol in Korea maintained higher average book-value and market-value based debt ratios, relative to their counterparts not belonging to the chaebol across all of the tested models. There were positive relationships of IND3(=the chemical industry) and Ind5(=the construction industry) to the book-value leverage. This study identified that there were no differences in the explanatory variables included, between the tested models (that is, without and with including the present value of an operating lease) related to each debt ratio. Since the Korean government continue to improve the corporate governance of the domestic firms in terms of accounting transparency and corporate ownership, it would be more efficient, if utilizing this "new" ratio considering an operating lease as an effective measurement of the level of leverage. In terms of the capital structure, it may also be possible for foreign firms to utilize and benefit from the results obtained in this study when operating their new businesses in Korea, given the economic circumstances such as the ongoing progress of the Korea-America FTA or the Korea-China FTA.