We attempt to answer the following key questions: What are the revaluation effects and the impacts on the cost of capital, volatility, and correlation with world market returns from stock market liberalization in emerging market countries? These questions have been studied extensively at the market-level, i.e. using country indices, but not at the firm level. In the market-level analysis, there is increasing concern whether the country indices are proper means to answer those questions, for example they may not represent the real holdings of foreign portfolio investors after liberalization. Indeed, foreign portfolio investors are known to prefer investment in large and well-known firms. Hence, the opening of capital markets should have a differential impact across securities depending on foreign investors' demand. In order to take into account the potentially different impacts caused by foreign investors' demand, we use individual firm data as well as market-level indices. Our analysis is based on the cross-sectional and time-series panel regression method. / Our test results using country indices show statistically and economically significant revaluation effects, and increases in the cost of capital. While the stock market volatility increases, its correlation with world market return does not change after stock market liberalization. More important than these market-level findings, we report significantly different impacts of stock market liberalization, based on firm size, which is used as a proxy for foreign investors' demand. Large firms tend to exhibit large revaluation effects, insignificant change in the cost of capital, small increases in volatility, and increases in correlation with the world market from liberalization. Small firms show small revaluation effects, increases in the cost of capital, large increases in volatility and decreases in correlation with world market returns after liberalization. Our results have important implications for international investors seeking to manage their global exposure as well as for policy makers considering capital market liberalization.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Accounting. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Economics, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-95).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Syracuse University, 2007. / "Publication number: AAT 3295518."

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic version.

This research investigates whether the South African Energy Regulator (NERSA) correctly prices the cost of equity, through looking at the petroleum storage sector. A model is built to simulate the current methodology for tariff setting and historical data is used to estimate the returns a regulated firm would have earned over the past 25 years. In addition, a benchmark cost of equity is calculated through a sample of US firms. Integrated firms are then decomposed to their revenue generating segments and cost of equity per segment is then estimated. The study finds that the methodology calculates a return lower than that earned by the market (measured through the J203). The study further finds that the risk to which the regulated company is exposed to, defined in terms of variability of retunes, is not significantly different than that of the market. Lastly, the study finds that the benchmark cost of equity is significantly higher than that calculated by the Regulator. Recommendation for Regulator consideration as well as for further research are provided. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

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America's reliance on foreign oil has raised economic and national security issues, and in turn the U.S. has been active in reducing its dependence on foreign oil to mitigate these issues. Also, the U.S. Navy has been instrumental in driving bio-fuel research and production by setting an ambitious goal to purchase 336M gallons of bio-fuel by 2020. The production of microalgae biomass is a promising field which may be able to meet these demands. The utilization of microalgae for the production of bio-fuel requires the implementation of efficient culturing processes to maximize production and reduce costs. Therefore, three discrete rate event simulation models were developed to analyze different scaling scenarios and determine total costs associated with each scenario. Three scaling scenarios were identified by this analysis and included a stepwise, volume batching and intense culturing process. A base case and potential best case were considered in which the culturing duration, lipid content and lipid induction period were adjusted. A what-if analysis was conducted which identified and reduced capital and operational costs contributing greatly to total costs. An NPV analysis was performed for each scenario to identify the risk associated with future cash flows. The research findings indicate that the intense culturing scaling scenario yielded the greatest model throughput and least total cost for both the base case and potential best case. However, this increased productivity and cost reduction were not significantly greater than the productivity generated by the stepwise scaling scenario, suggesting that the implementation of flat plate bio-reactors in the intense culturing process may be non-advantageous given the increased operational costs of these devices. The volume batching scenario yielded the greatest total cost L^-1 of microalgae bio-oil for both, indicating an inefficient process. The scaling scenarios of the base case and potential best case yielded negative NPV's while the stepwise and intense culturing scenarios of the what-if analysis generated positive NPV's. The base case is based on current technological advances, biological limitations and costs of microalgae production therefore, a negative NPV suggests that utilizing microalgae for bio-fuel production is not an economically feasible project at this time.

Do firms with higher levels of innovation output, measured by patent counts and citations, enjoy lower costs of funds? The process to develop and apply for patents involves valuable resources. Thus, applying for a patent is a credible signal that the underlying invention is valuable. This value is validated to some degree when the patent is granted. In addition, patents contain detailed information about the firm's inventions and provide collateral value as they can be sold and licensed. The number of citations a firm receives act as a proxy for high-quality inventions, active networking, and pioneering. These attributes are expected to attract investors and reduce the cost of funds. Univariate and cross-sectional regression analyses of a sample consisting of 404,595 firm-years, involving firms from twenty-eight countries spanning from 1976 to 2012, demonstrate a significant negative association between innovation output and the cost of funds. The evidence suggests that the marginal benefit of innovation diminishes as innovation output increases. The results are robust to different measures of the cost of equity and the cost of debt. The negative association between the cost of equity and innovation output is economically larger for younger and smaller firms. The long-term level of innovation seems to be more important to shareholders than short-term changes of innovation. In addition, shareholders demonstrate an ability to discern between low and high-quality innovations, as they require lower rates of returns when initial patents exhibit a high quality. Shareholders place more value on innovation output when firms operate in countries with legal systems that are more effective in controlling self-dealing practices, in countries that have higher economic freedom, and in countries that have more developed financial markets. The correlation between the cost of debt and innovation output is predominantly derived by larger, more mature, and more leveraged firms. Innovation output and the cost of debt are not correlated for low levels of innovation; however, medium and high levels of innovation output relative to peer firms are associated with lower costs of bonds. The findings suggest that the effect of innovation on the cost of debt is stronger in countries with more developed financial markets and in countries characterized by higher levels of economic freedom. Practices that control for self-dealing do not affect the association between innovation output and the cost of debt.

The objective of the thesis is to evaluate the efficiency using contemporary methods of economical analysis. The preamble includes brief history of the company, description of the technical aspect of rising the profit and value added by prosecution of the power plant. In analytical part I evaluate the company using analytical indicators quantified from financial statements. I describe the indicator itself and comment results and eventually propose improvements. At the end I apply comparative methods using data from statements of competitors in the sector.