The Dividend Policy of the Pusan Cooperative Fish Market

부산공동어시장의 배당정책

Dividend Policy involves the decision to pay out earnings versus retaining them for reinvestment in the firm, and dividend policy decisions can have either favorable or unfavorable effects on the attainment of firm's objective. This paper is to examine the present status of dividend policy of the Pusan Cooperative Fish Market, and to suggest the optimal dividend policy decisions appropriate for achieving its objective, which is to promote the fishermen's benefits and protect the interest of consumers. There are two types of dividend that the Pusan Cooperative Fish Market pays to the equity owners : (1) dividend on capital and (2) equalized patronage dividend. During'90s, while the rate of dividend on capital ranged from 1.7% to 2.8%, that of equalized patronage dividend ranged from 13.9% to 22.9%. Therefore, the rate of total dividend on capital including revolving funds has been about 20%, which turns out to be much higher than those of companies listed in the stock market. According to the current dividend data, the Pusan Cooperative Fish Market focuses on the equalized patronage dividend and the dividen on capital is the secondary type of dividend. In addition, the interesting feature of equalized patronage dividend is that it is supposed to be reinvested into capital by the Articles of the Fish Market, as soon as the Fish Market pays it to its members. Finally, this paper suggests the rational dividend policy of the Fish Market that is able to help its objective to be achidved more efficiently. The overall direction of the rational dividend policy can be summarized as follows ; (1) The level of cash dividend on capital should be increased enough to reflect the market interest rate. (2) The subsidy of working capital to some member fisheries cooperatives as quasi- dividend should be cut off steadily. (3) The equalized patronage dividend should be replaced by the original patronage dividend whose level is determined by the volume of each member's purchase. (4) In the long-term, it is necessary to improve the system of revolving funds in the way that revoloving funds could serve to complement equity capital for only a fixed time, after which they ard repaid to the members.