• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.19-44
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• 2015

This paper examines the effect of the global financial crisis on corporate investment in Korea. Specifically, the crisis was considered to have possibly constrained firm-level investment as the negative shock to the credit supply dramatically unfolded. As Duchin et al. (2010) demonstrated, if a negative supply-side shock is evident during a crisis period, larger cash holdings before the crisis will lead to fewer constraints to corporate investment, or vice versa. In order to investigate the supply-side effect of the crisis, we use firm-level financial data, including firms listed on the Korean stock market as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. We find that corporate investment declined significantly after the crisis, even if we control for factors associated with the demand side, such as contemporaneous capital productivity and cash flow. More importantly, the decline is positively and significantly related to cash holdings before the crisis, implying the negative effect of a credit supply shock. Small and medium enterprises experienced relatively sharp investment declines compared to those of larger firms, and the relationship between pre-crisis cash amounts and the degree of investment decline is greater than that in large firms. Additionally, we examine whether the negative effect persists up to the present, finding evidence that the cash-investment relationship continues in small and medium-sized enterprises.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.504-516
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• 2015

This study addresses one of the curent issues in modern finance, which investigates financial profile on the levels of the chaebol firms' cash hoardings in the domestic capital market. Iit may be imperative to search for robust and consistent financial determinants of cash holdings as well as identifying any changes or trend of the determinants affecting the corporate cash reserves in the post-era of the global financial turmoil, considering that interest parties at the government and corporate levels, still seem to have a controversy or debate on excess cash savings. Two hypotheses were postulated and empirically tested for the chaebol firms in the study, such as any transitional changes of the relevant factors on cash holdings and unique attributes of financial factors discriminating between the different type of domestic stock markets.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.137-164
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• 2008

This paper examines the operating performance of firms that for a four-year period, held more than 15% of their assets in cash and cash equivalents. During next four years, operating performance of firms maintaining high cash persistently is greater than the performance of firms matched by size and industry or firms adopting transitory high cash policy. Furthermore, the effect of persistent cash holdings on operating performance depends on the ownership structure and the level of information asymmetry. Foreign investors deteriorate the operating performance of high cash firms, suggesting that potential M&A and the pressure of excessive dividend reduce the usefulness of cash. The level of information asymmetry enhances the operating performance for the firms adopting persistent high cash policy. It suggests that cash holdings reduce the costly external financing and underinvestment problem for firms with high information asymmetry.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.7118-7125
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• 2015

This study examined one of the concerned or even imperative issues in the field of contemporary finance related to approaching an optimal level of cash holdings for the firms belonging to the chaebols in the Korean domestic capital markets. However, the subject may not have been drawn much attention so far, even if there are still ongoing and active debates among the interest parties at the macro- or micro-level. Two primary hypotheses were postulated to be empirically tested. On the results of the first hypothesis test for the existence of an optimal cash reserves for the sample firms, two estimation techniques were performed in terms of a quadratic regression equation and a relationship between a firm's value and the residuals derived from the static panel date model. As a primary financial implication of the study which may contribute to the practitioners and the academics in finance, the optimal level of cash holdings can be estimated by controlling for the a priori significant components for the sample firms towards maximizing firm value.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.3870-3881
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• 2015

This study examined one of the contemporary issues on debate to identify any significant financial determinants on the cash holdings of the cheabol firms in the Korean domestic capital markets. Several important findings on the financial characteristics affecting the cash holdings were evidenced by utilizing various methodologies for statistical estimations. Financial or managerial implications with discussion were provided for the pronounced factors such as CASHFLOW, MVBV, REINVEST, and AGENCY. Assuming that the chaebol firms were overall subject to the financial constrains, they may increase or stockpile cash reserves as internal capital for future investment opportunities or repayment of existing debt, rather than external financing burdened by a high cost of capital. Given the on-going controversy on the optimal level of corporate cash holdings coupled with any foreseeable capital transfer among the associated nations through the investment vehicles such the FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) or TPP (Trans-Pacific Pacts), any empirical findings of the study may shed new light on identifying financial determinants which may significantly affect the level of cash holdings for the business conglomerates, the 'chaebol' firms, in the Korean capital markets.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.163-169
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• 2019

This study examined whether industry-level competition affects excess stock returns because of changes in cash holdings. Competitive inter-company threats increase the possibility of the manager's replacement, and function to induce management to make their best efforts, resulting in the amount and quality of the information provided by the enterprise increasing. Therefore, as competition intensifies, agency problems are reduced and stock returns increase because the company's cash holdings are expected to increase. However, there is a view that firms in industries with severe competition tend to have high information asymmetry because competitors may compete in more favorable positions by using detailed information disclosed by the competing firms. Accordingly, as market competition intensifies, the excess stock returns resulting from increased cash holdings are expected to decline. These results show that excess stock returns because of increases in cash holdings increase as the degree of competition in the industry intensifies, thus supporting the positive effect of market competition. Overall, the results of this study provide an understanding that market competition plays an effective external governance mechanism and that investors positively evaluate the cash held by companies with severe industry competition.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.436-448
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• 2015

This study examined one of the contemporary financial aspects, the level of corporate cash holdings for the firms belonging to the chaebols in the Korean capital markets. Being accompanied by various alternative econometric methodologies such as static and dynamic panel data model, stepwise OLS, and Fama-Macbeth modelm this research extended the preceding Kim's study (2015) in anticipation of validating the results to identify any financial factors which may significantly affect the chaebol firms' cash reserves. Several financial characteristics such as CASHFLOW, MVBV, REINVEST, and AGENCY, were found to be statistically significant factors on the level corporate liquidity, along with CCC as cash conversion cycle in the models. It may be plausible that any outcomes of this study may be applied to enhance the efficiency of financial strategies of the chaebol firms on cash holdings, thereby expediting the development of the domestic capital markets status quo toward the advanced one in the market classification.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.157-176
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• 2009

This study analyzed the information factors which determine cash liquidity in Korean export-oriented companies. In this paper, cash liquidity means the ratio of the value of cash or cash equivalent to the asset value subtracted marketable securities value from total asset value. The empirical test shows that main information factors are the size of company, the growth opportunity of company, the volatility of operating cash flows and free cash flows, the credit yield spread of company, the debt ratio, the turnover ratio of cash flows and free cash flows, and the estimate of bankruptcy that amounts to the inverse number of Z score. In summary, the size of company, debt ratio, turnover ratio of cash flows and free cash flows, and Z-score have negative influence on the cash liquidity of Korean export-oriented companies. but the volatility of operating cash flows affect the cash liquidity positively.

• The Korean Journal of Financial Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.1-32
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• 2008

This study examines the changes and determinants of cash to assets ratios(cash ratios) by analyzing 14,016 Korean manufacturing firms sample for the period of $1999{\sim}2004$. The major findings can be summarized as follows. First, the average cash ratios for Korean manufacturing firms have increased from 4.7 percent of 1999 to 5.2 percent of 2004. In addition, the average cash holdings per firm also have increased from 4.3 billion Won to 8.0 billion Won during the same period. However, the capital expenditures relative to cash ratios or operating cash flow have decreased significantly, confirming the notion that physical investment of Korean manufacturing sector has been shrinking recently. Second, in regression tests with panel data, the coefficients of target adjustment variables show the expected negative signs, but coefficients of the deficit of fund variables show the unexpected positive signs. Thus, the evidence seems to be supportive of static tradeoff model of cash holdings. Third, in regression tests to find the determinants of cash ratios, most of the variables show similar results as the previous studies. However, in terms of adjusted coefficient of determination and F-statistic, the firm-characteristic variables suggested by static trade-off theory have more explanatory power than the variables suggested by pecking order theory.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.504-513
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• 2017

This study investigated one of the controversial issues on debate or even controversial between policy makers at the government and corporate levels: To examine any financial determinants on the cash holdings of the firms in the advanced and emerging capital markets. Futhermore, it focused on the large representative firms headquartered in the U.S. and the Republic of Korea, taking into account scarcity of the previous literature concentrated on the comparative studies on this particular subject. Several legitimate, but robust econometric estimations such as static and dynamic panel data models and Tobit regression, were applied to investigate possible financial factors ono the cash liquidity. Given the continued debates or arguments on the excess cash reserves between interest partied at the government and corporate levels in the advanced and/or emerging capital markets, and more accelerated capital transfers among associated nations by engaging in the arrangements of the FTAs, the results of the study may provide a vision to search for the optimal level of corporate cash holdings for firms in the two nations.