• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.289-295
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• 2021

This study investigates the role of corporate governance in the dividend decision of 198 non-financial companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange of Sri Lanka, over the period from 2009 to 2016. Four corporate governance indicators are used in this study; managerial ownership, the board size, board independence, and CEO duality. Furthermore, this study considers three control variables such as profitability, firm size, and corporate tax. This study employed the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model to estimate the regression models on panel data study. The major contribution of this study is exploring the insight into the effect of corporate governance factors on dividend decisions. The results of the study revealed that managerial ownership showed a significant positive impact on the dividend payout ratio. Board size showed a significant positive influence on the dividend payout ratio. Board independence negatively but significantly influenced the dividend payout ratio. CEO duality showed an insignificant negative impact on the dividend payout ratio. In the framework of these CG indicators, Sri Lankan listed firms are recommended to have dispersed ownerships, large Board size and maintain a balance of power and authority by separating the individual who is assuming the position of the CEO from the Chairperson of the Board and maintain at least two independent directors.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.21-34
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• 2018

The study tests the Fama and French three-factor model by using the newly created Islamic equity style indices. Based on a dataset from May 2006 to April 2011, the three-factor model is tested based on returns of Islamic unit trust funds using the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) methodology. The sample period is also divided between periods before and after the Global Financial Crisis in August 2008 to test for robustness, and the Bai and Perron (2003) multiple structural break test was used to determine the structural break in the series. The analysis shows that the Fama and French model is valid for Islamic unit trust funds before and after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The result further indicates the reversal of size effect. As for trading strategies, value funds outperform growth funds by annualized 3.13 percent for the full period. During pre-crisis period, value funds perform better than growth funds while in post-crisis, size factor yields better return than other strategies. As policy suggestion, fund managers need to be aware of the reversal of size effect, and they need to ensure a more transparent stock selection process so that investors can make an informed decision in their asset allocation.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.144-148
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• 2008

The size and surface effects on the magnetism of a fcc Fe (001) surface was investigated by performing firstprinciples calculations on 3, 5, 7, and 9 monolayers fcc Fe (001) single slabs with two different two-dimensional lattice constants, ${\alpha}=3.44{\AA}$ (System I) and 3.65 ${\AA}$ (System II), using the all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method within a generalized gradient approximation. The surface layers were coupled ferromagnetically to the subsurface layer in both systems. However, the magnetism of the inner layers was quite different from each other. While all the inner layers of System II were ferromagnetically coupled in the same way as the surface layer, the inner layers of System I showed a peculiar magnetism, bilayer antiferromagnetism. The calculated spin magnetic moments per Fe atom were approximately 2.7 and 2.9 ${\mu}_B$ at the surface for Systems I and II, respectively, due to the almost occupied Fe d-state being in the majority spin state and band narrowing. The spin orientations of System I were out-of-plane regardless of its thickness, whereas the orientation of System II changed from out-of-plane to in-plane with increasing thickness.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.11
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• pp.835-842
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• 2020

The study aims to investigate the impact of debt on corporate profitability in the context of Vietnam. The paper investigates the impact of debt on corporate profitability in non-finance listed companies on the Vietnam stock market. The panel data of the research sample includes 118 non-financial listed companies on the Vietnam stock market for a period of nine years, from 2009 to 2017. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is employed to address econometric issues and to improve the accuracy of the regression coefficients. In this research, corporate profitability is measured as the return of EBIT on total assets. The debt ratio is a ratio that indicates the proportion of a company's debt to its total assets. Firm sizes, tangible assets, growth rate, and taxes are control variables in the study. The empirical results show that debt has a statistically significant negative effect on corporate profitability. The result also shows this effect is stronger in a non-linear (concave) way, we show that the debt ratio has nonlinear effects on corporate profitability. From this, experimental evidence shows that the optimal debt ratio is 38.87%. This evidence provides a new insight to managers of the non-finance companies on how to improve the firm's profitability with debt.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.11
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• pp.191-201
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• 2021

This article examines the role of financial development in economic growth in a number of transitional economies where the financial systems were newly established or reformed only in the early 1990s to facilitate their transition from centrally planned economies to market-based ones. Based on a dataset collected from 29 transitional economies and 5 Asian developing economies covering the period 1990-2020, an empirical endogenous growth model is specified and estimated using the generalized method of moments (GMM). Three measures of financial development are used to investigate the relative role of the banking system and stock exchange market in the process of transition and growth. The results show that the three measures of financial development are crucial determinants of economic growth in transitional economies but the link seems to be in an inverted U-shape. This suggests the existence of thresholds for different channels of the financial sector to expand to positively influence growth. When becoming too large relative to the size of the economy, the financial system would have become a factor not conducive to growth. The growth convergence hypothesis is also confirmed and the impacts of other growth determinants are overall consistent with the extant literature.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.61-71
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• 2020

The study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms, such as board characteristics on corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD). The data on CSRD items and board characteristics have been collected by content analysis of the annual reports of 30 publicly-listed banks in Bangladesh covering six years, from 2013 to 2018. More specifically, the directors' report, the chairman's statement, notes to the financial statement and CSR disclosure reports included in annual reports were used to collect the CSRD data. The empirical analysis applies the ordinary least square and the generalized method of moments. The results of the study have revealed that board size, board independence, female board member, and foreign directors have a significant positive impact on CSRD. By contrast, political directors and audit committee size have a negative impact on CSRD. Interestingly, accounting experts on boards ensure more CSRD as they curb the influence of politicians on the board. Thus, it is better to increase accounting experts and decrease politicians on the board. These findings provide valuable insights into the process of forming a suitable CSR policy by connecting the efforts of the board, government, and regulatory bodies to enhance the performance of banks to CSR as well as to CSRD.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.39-49
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• 2017

Religious intolerance has become a common feature of many countries in recent times. Studies have revealed a worldwide increase in government regulations and social hostilities against religious beliefs and practices. The stifling impact of both government and society on the market for religion, warrants closer scrutiny. This study examines the relationship between government regulations and social hostilities towards religious beliefs and practices, for the period of 2001-2011 for a sample of 45 European countries. The Generalized Method of Moments dynamic panel estimation technique is employed to analyze the micro panel dataset of 45 European countries, to establish the possible relationships that may exist between these variables. The theoretical framework for this study is based on the Religious Economies Theory and the Supply Side Theory of Religion. The results of this study show evidence of the positive relationship between government regulations and social hostility. Interestingly, the study also revealed that the impact of social hostility on the level of government restrictions is smaller in magnitude compared to the reverse impact of government restrictions on social hostilities, indicating the dangerous role played by governments in inciting social hostilities, when they regulate or restrict religious beliefs and practices.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.105-115
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• 2020

The study empirically examines the effects of loan portfolio diversification on bank risk and return in the nascent banking market of Vietnam. Loan portfolio diversification is captured through the Hirschman-Herfindahl index and the Shannon Entropy with sectoral exposures. We access each bank's financial reports to collect the required data, especially the breakdown of sectoral loan portfolios, thus constituting a unique dataset. To compute bank return, we use the traditional accounting indicators, including return-on-assets, return-on-equity, and net-interest margin. For bank risk, we utilize the loan-loss provisions and non-performing loans relative to gross customer loans. Using a sample of 30 commercial banks over the period from 2008 to 2019 and the system generalized method of moments estimator for the dynamic panel, we indicate the downsides of portfolio diversification. Concretely, we observe that all diversification measures exhibit significantly negative signs in all regressions across different bank return proxies. At the same time, the estimates display the significant and positive impact of diversification on the non-performing loan ratio. Hence, sectoral loan portfolio diversification significantly hampers bank performance in both aspects of lower return and higher credit risk. The results are robust across a rich set of bank performance and portfolio diversification measures.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

The implications of bank-specific risks and macroeconomic risks on the growth, profitability, and stability of Islamic and conventional banks are examined and compared in this article. The study also investigates whether corporate governance mitigates the effects of both bank-specific and macroeconomic risks on Islamic and conventional banks' development, profitability, and stability. For the period 2007-2019, we examined a panel data set of 22 banks in Pakistan, including both Islamic and conventional banks. We discovered considerable evidence that both bank-specific risks and macroeconomic risks have negative effects on the growth, profitability, and stability of Pakistani banks using a dynamic panel data estimator, the two-step Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach. Furthermore, the findings show that bank-specific and macroeconomic risks have different consequences in both types of banking. The impacts of liquidity risk, operational risk, capital risk, inflation risk, and exchange rate risk are higher for Islamic banks than for conventional banks. Conventional banks, on the other hand, are more vulnerable to credit risk and interest rate risk. Finally, the findings show that good corporate governance reduces the negative consequences of both categories of risks on bank development, profitability, and stability. This is true for Islamic and conventional banks alike.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1-10
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• 2024

Purpose: This study's objective is to examine the impact of firm-specific and macroeconomic factors on the business performance of non-cyclical and cyclical sectors in Indonesian listed firms. The evaluation of business performance holds paramount importance for the achievement and long-term viability of a company. Research Design Data and Methodology: The data for 61 non-cyclicals sector companies and 57 cyclicals sector companies was gathered over a 4-year period from 2018-2021. The model integrates firm size, leverage, and sales growth as firm-specific factors, with real GDP growth and inflation rate as macroeconomic variables. ROA and ROE are indicators of a firm's business performance. The regression models are estimated using the distribution of a dynamic approach with Arellano-Bond Panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation. Results: The results of the pooled sample indicate that the historical ROA and ROE have a positive relationship with the business performance of all sectors, including both non-cyclical and cyclical industries. The ROE of non-cyclical enterprises is primarily influenced by firm-specific characteristics and macroeconomic influences. Conclusion: To ensure the successful implementation of the distribution of a dynamic approach towards enhancing corporate business performance, organizations need to take into account a combination of firm-specific factors and macroeconomic factors.