• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.51-61
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• 2020

This research investigates the consequences of the increase in corporate use of short-term debt in China over the past decades. Using a sample of Chinese firms from 2007 to 2018, we empirically explore the effect of corporate use of short-term debt for long-term investment (SFLI) on audit pricing. We first examine the relationship between SFLI and audit pricing for different groups of firms. Then, we investigate the role of the increase in short-term debt in alleviating principal-agent conflicts and reducing agency costs. We have four primary empirical findings. First, auditors tend to charge SFLI clients higher fees. Second, the negative relationship between SFLI and audit fee is found in private firms, firms audited by Chinese domestic auditors, and firms with higher information asymmetry. Third, the time auditors spent on SFLI clients is significantly more than that spent on non-SFLI clients, suggesting that the decrease in audit fee is not due to the decrease in cost. Fourth, SFLI significantly reduces the agency costs of the firm, which auditors regard as a low risk signal and grant an audit fee discount. Our findings suggest that the decrease in debt maturity, not only influences managerial behaviors, but also influences auditors' risk assessment and pricing decisions.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.861-872
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• 2021

This study examines the relationship between board characteristics and capital structure. Data was collected from the annual reports of listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand, from 2015 to 2017, which totaled 1,264 firm-year observations. The study uses multiple regression analysis to analyses the data by using independent variables, including board size, outside directors, managerial ownership, CEO duality, frequency of board meetings, board experience, and gender to measure board characteristics and the total debt ratio for capital structure. Research findings show that the more independent the directors are, the lower the cost of debt financing is, as they control the management team more strictly about debt financing than directors with less independence do. Additionally, the results reveal that the higher the percentage of managerial ownership, the higher the level of leverage and debt financing, whereas board size and board meetings have a negative relationship to capital structure. Further research showed that firm size, growth opportunities and corporate governance rating all had a positive significant impact on capital structure. The findings of this study suggest that the presence of proper corporate governance leads to better funding mechanisms as it ensures that the company is in a better position to obtain external funding.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.71-76
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• 2015

Using a sample of publicly-traded Chinese firms, this study examines a relationship between managerial ownership and corporate debt maturity decisions. China has transformed dramatically into a market capitalist economy over the past decades. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the role of professional managers. In this situation, this study explores the effect of stock grants to managers as incentive system by providing evidence that managerial ownership affects corporate debt maturity decisions. The findings are as follows: First, I find that like US firms, managerial ownership is negatively related to the proportion of long-term debt. Second, I divide the entire sample into two subsamples of state-owned and privately owned firms. For the privately owned firms, I find that there is a negative relationship between managerial ownership and the proportion of long-term debt. In contrast, for the state-owned firms, the relationship is positive and insignificant.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.301-308
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• 2018

This study explores an analytical mathematical model designed to estimate the optimal debt ratio of the Korean automobile industry, which has a more significant effect on the national economy than that of other industries, and attempts to estimate the optimal debt ratio based on objective data. The analytical model is based on ROA and ROE which uses the debt ratio as an independent variable and employs ROS, TAT, and NFCL as the related parameters. Regarding the NFCL, the optimal debt ratio is usually defined as the debt ratio that maximizes the ROA and ROE and is calculated using analytical procedures, such as by adding an equation that considers the debt ratio and the linearity relationship to the analytical model. This is because the optimal debt ratio can be calculated reliably by making use of an estimated value within a certain range, which is derived from more than two calculations rather than a single estimation starting from one calculation formula. In this study, for the estimation of the optimal debt ratio, the ROA and ROE are expressed as a quadratic equation with the debt ratio as the independent variable. Using this analysis procedure, the optimal debt ratio obtained using the data from the Korean automobile industry over a sixteen year period, which would optimize the profitability of the Korean automobile industry, was found to be 188% of the debt ratio in the ROA and 213% of the debt ratio in the ROE. This result was obtained by overcoming the problem of the reliability of the estimation value in spite of the limitations of the logical theory of this study, and can be interpreted as meaning that maintaining a debt ratio of 188% to 213% can enhance the profitability and reduce the risks in the Korean automobile industry. Furthermore, this indicates that the existing debt ratio of the Korean automobile industry is lower than the optimal value within the estimated range. Consequently, it is necessary for corporations to change their future debt ratio policies, given that the purpose of debt ratio management is to maintain safety and increase profitability, and to take into account the characteristics of the specific industry.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.600-608
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• 2017

This study analyzed the management index, debt ratio, and business performance of livestock agricultural farming corporations since the Korea international financial reporting standards (K-IFRS) was introduced in 2011. In addition, this study was based on credible accounting reports by the financial supervisory service's DART (data analysis, retrieval and transfer) system. First, after analyzing the key management index, the results showed that the current ratio, debt ratio, and current liabilities ratio decreased and the ratio of the owners increased on the safety index. Regarding the profitability index, the ROA (return on total assets), ROE (return on equity), and ROS (return on sales) increased slightly in 2014 compared to 2013. The overall growth and external growth on the growth index have not increased. Second, an analysis of the debt ratio and business performance, the debt ratio has a negative effect on the ROA and ROS. These results show that the use of debt of livestock agricultural farming corporations contributes to the external growth but it has a negative effect on business performance. These results show that management should consider solutions for the increase in sales to achieve cost reductions. In addition, the debt ratio should be reduced and solutions for an increase in revenue are needed to reduce management expenses, such as propagation of technical development.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-53
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• 2019

This paper examines monetary policy quantitatively in a two-agent and small-scale New-Keynesian economy with debt-constrained households that cannot smooth their consumption intertemporally and frictionlessly since highly indebted households are not allowed to borrow above a certain debt ceiling in incomplete financial markets without additional risk premiums due to information asymmetry between savers and borrowers. We find that, in the event of cost shocks, the asymmetric responses of borrowing households without, and saving households with, dividend incomes lead to different labor supplies and consumptions over heterogeneous households, and eventually to an extension of the monetary policy transmission channels. The income effect and low elasticity of the labor supply play key roles in such asymmetric responses over heterogeneous households. We also find that the social welfare in a flexible inflation targeting (FIT) monetary policy, in which both the inflation gap and the output gap are considered in an integrated manner when policy-making, is similar to that of the Ramsey optimal monetary policy (ROP), in which the shares of debt-constrained households, as well as all economic states, including both the inflation gap and output gap, are considered comprehensively for policy-making, and that it is greater than that of simple inflation targeting (SIT) monetary policy, in which only the inflation gap is considered mechanically for policy-making. Such social welfare implies that a FIT policy may still work even in an economy with a sizable number of debt-constrained households. Further, the responses of cost shocks to consumption and labor supply are dying out more slowly under FIT and ROP policies than under an SIT policy.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.19-38
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• 2013

This paper explores the relationship between shipping firm's investment and debt-ratio characteristics. Using a panel of 41 shipping firms from 2006 to 2011, this study finds evidence that debt/asset ratio and leverage are negatively associated with firm's investment activities. This relationship shows that volume of debt and capital structure are critical decision factor on firm's investment and capital financing. In terms of financial expenses to sales, positive relationship is existed with firm's investment finding that financing cost is important to investment. The previous study of the firm's investment in other sector also shows a negative relationship with debit ratio. This study is also interested in the extent to which the firm's investment is affected by firm size because there is general agreement that smaller firms have less access to external capital markets. As results, smaller companies group have more positive relationship with factors related to financing cost such as financial expenses to sales and tax. On the other hand, bigger companies group shows the evidence that firm investment is positive relationship with asset size. The analysis corresponding to economic fluctuation shows that debit ratio is more sensitive to firm's investment during a recession. On the other hand, financial expenses to sales is more related to firm's investment during an economic boom.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

This paper attempts to investigate the determinants of capital structure of Vietnamese firms and also shed light on some of the factors of the modern theory of capital structure which is relevant for explaining the capital structure in advanced countries which are also relevant in the context of Vietnam. Using panel data from more than 1000 Vietnamese listed enterprises census 2017-2020, the paper finds that leverage ratio of Vietnamese firms is significantly related to probability. The firms have high level of fixed assets which they use as collateral, resulting in higher debt ratio, which is in line with the pecking order theory. The result also confirm that highly targeted debt ratio is positively correlated with the industry characteristics (using real estate firms as a benchmark), in which firm operates. Furthermore, consistent with the trade-off hypothesis, the leverage ratio is positively affected by non - debt tax shield. The result confirms that a large number of companies are state - owned, will have an insignificant impact of firm's size (as reverse proxy for bankruptcy cost) on leverage ratio. We also find that there is no distinction between state-owned enterprises and private enterprises due to strict adherence to the rules set by the Vietnamese government. Distinct from other countries, corporate income tax has slight impact on capital structure in Vietnamese firms.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.9-20
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• 2018

Global rating agencies, such as Moody's and S&P, have assigned credit ratings to corporate bonds issued by Japanese firms since 1980s. Local Japanese rating agencies, such as R&I and JCR, have more market share than the global raters. We examine the yield spreads of 1,050 yen-denominated corporate bonds issued by financial firms in Japan from 1998 to 2014 and find no evidence that bonds rated by at least one global agency are associated with a significant reduction in the cost of debt as compared to those rated by only local rating agencies. Unlike non-financial firms, the reputation effect of global rating agencies does not exist for Japanese financial firms. We also observe that firms with less information asymmetry are more likely to acquire ratings from Moody's or S&P. Additionally, the firm's financial profile does not affect its choice to seek out ratings from global raters. Our findings are contradictory to those by Han, Pagano, and Shin (2012), who employ bonds issued by non-financial firms in Japan. Our conjecture is that the asymmetric nature of financial firms makes investors less likely to depend on a credit risk assessment by rating agencies in determining the yields of new bonds.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.5-15
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• 2016

This study examines whether Korean rating agencies such as Korea Investors Service (KIS), National Information & Credit Evaluation (NICE), and Korea Ratings Corporation (KR), incorporate corporate governance into their corporate bond ratings in Korea. We find that the Korean rating agencies assign higher ratings to the bonds issued by Chaebol (Korean business group) affiliated firms. Our results also indicate that those rating agencies give higher ratings to the bonds with greater foreign investor share ownership. Moreover, if the rating agencies value corporate governance, higher rated firms should issue bonds at lower yield to maturity. We discover that Chaebol affiliation is counted favorably by the rating agencies. We find that investors are willing to pay lower risk premium for bonds with higher institutional ownership, but higher risk premium to bonds with greater equity ownership in the form of depository receipts. Therefore, even if the rating agencies and investors in Korea consider corporate governance (Chaebol affiliation and ownership structure) an important determinant in bond ratings and the yields to maturity, they have opposite views on institutional ownership and share ownership in the form of depository receipts.