Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Revenue derived from the sales of diamonds contributes significantly towards economic growth, with a GDP share of about 10 per cent. A significant decline in diamond revenue will therefore affect economic growth and contributes negatively to the socio-economic upliftment of the Namibian nation. A case in point was the effects of the global financial crisis on the diamond industry. This study aims to analyse the impact of the global financial crisis on the diamond industry supply chain in the Namibian context. The supply chain analysis involves the studying of the whole chain from the mining of the ore into the chain to the delivering of the rough diamond to the cutting and polishing factories. The main sectors involved in the supply chain are the supply sector which is involved in the extracting of the ore from open-cast, underground, alluvial and sea-bed mines, processing the ore into rough diamonds ready for sorting. The processing sector is involved with maximising the value by undertaking valuations and sorting, which determine the price that is paid for the stones and the presentation sorting which is the process whereby diamonds are prepared for sale in line with clients’ polished requirements. The demand sector is involved in the sales and marketing of the rough diamonds. The following areas have been focused on to analyse the sectors: 1. The market competitiveness, using Porter’s 5-force analysis. 2. A SWOT analysis to determine internal and external environments of the respective sectors. 3. Trend reviews of the activity in each sector for the years 2000–2009. 4. The causes and the responses to the impact of the global financial crisis on each of the sectors. The aim of the analysis is to create a deeper insight into the forces and the impact these forces are having on the rough diamond supply chain. The research revealed that the 2007–2009 global financial crisis had a negative impact on the levels of diamond production in Namibia and also on the economic growth and the living standards of a number of retrenched workers. The study further reveals that despite the negative effects of the global financial crisis, there are positive signs of economic recovery and employment creation.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The point of departure for this study was the wide-ranging furore in media publications regarding the pervasive decline in donor funding for civil society organisations in South Africa, as influenced by the recent global financial crisis, and the subsequent shutting down of a number of civil society organisations. The decision to embark on this study has its roots in the fact that civil society is an important feature in a democracy with regards to government responsiveness, accountability as well as citizen participation in democratic governance. In South Africa, particularly, this is important in light of the country’s fledgling democracy, and even more so, when considering the ruling party’s overwhelming political power resulting in a dominant party system. The aim of this study was to find out what accounts for the plummet in donor funding, and the overriding question guiding this study was: Has the global financial crisis influenced civil society in South Africa? The broader question asked was: What are the challenges facing civil society organisations in South Africa? This study aims to assist in the evaluation of the potential role that civil society has played and continues to play in South Africa’s young democracy and what the implications would be for democracy if civil society organisations were hampered in these roles and continued to close offices. This study is explorative in nature and relied on qualitative data obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with two prominent South African non-governmental organisations; namely the Institute for Democracy and the Treatment Action Campaign. A key informant was selected and interviewed from each organisation. The findings of the interviews were operationalised through the lenses of Andrew Heywood’s (2007) conceptual theoretical framework, which puts forward five resources that civil society organisations need in order to exert their influence. While acknowledging the importance of all five resources, this study pays particular attention to financial resources received through international donor funding, for without financial resources it is difficult for an organisation to survive. The findings of the interviews and the conclusions drawn underscored four realities: firstly that the decrease in funding is not limited to the organisations examined in this study, but civil society as a whole. The second reality rests on the fact that the global financial crisis has indeed influenced the Institute for Democracy and the Treatment Action Campaign in ways that are a cause for a concern, not only for the survival of the organisation, but also for the durability of South Africa’s young and at times fragile democracy. The third reality points to other challenges that have influenced donor funding, such as South Africa’s middle income status, a shift in donor orientation and focus and donor-specific problems. The fourth reality that was pointed out thrust this study into the conclusion that financial resources are the essential life-blood of civil society organisations. In light of the role that civil society plays in a democracy, the findings in this study point to a concerning trend in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die aanvangspunt van hierdie studie is die omvangrykende mediadekking aangaande die wydverspreide afname in donateursbefondsing vir burgerlike samelewingorganisasies in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie afname is beïnvloed deur die onlangse globale finansiële krisis en het tot gevolg die ontbinding van ʼn aantal burgerlike samelewingorganisasies. Die besluit om met hierdie studie te begin het sy oorsprong in die feit dat die burgerlike samelewing ʼn belangrike kenmerk van demokrasie is veral met betrekking tot regeringsresponsiwiteit, aanspreeklikheid sowel as die deelname van burgers aan ʼn demokratiese regering. In Suid-Afrika is dit belangrik, veral met die oog op die land se jong demokrasie en nog meer wanneer die heersende party se oorweldigende politiese mag in ag geneem word en dat dit tot ʼn dominante partystelsel lei. Die doel van hierdie studie is om vas te stel wat die oorsaak van die daling in skenkersfondse is. Die rigtinggewende vraag vir die studie was: het die wêreldwye finansiële krisis die burgerlike samelewing in Suid-Afrika beïnvloed? Die studie beoog om by te dra tot die evaluasie van die potensiële rol wat burgerlike samelewing in Suid-Afrika se jong demokrasie gespeel het, en steeds speel, en wat die implikasies vir demokrasie sou wees indien burgerlike samelewingorganisasies se rol bemoeilik word en verplig word om nog meer van hulle kantore te sluit. Die studie is ondersoekend van aard en het staatgemaak op kwalitatiewe data wat verkry is deur in-diepte onderhoude met twee vooraanstaande Suid-Afrikaanse nie-regeringsorganisasies te voer naamlik die Instituut vir Demokrasie en die ‘Treatment Action Campaign’. ’n Gesaghebbende segsman uit elke organisasie is gekies vir die onderhoude. Die bevindings is geoperasionaliseer deur die lense van Andrew Heywood (2007) se konseptuele teoretiese raamwerk wat aanvoer dat daar vyf hulpbronne is wat burgerlike organisasies nodig het om hulle invloed te laat geld. Terwyl die waarde van al vyf hulpbronne erken word, skenk hierdie studie in die besonder aandag aan die finansiële hulpbronne wat van internasionale skenkersfondse ontvang word omdat burgerlike organisasies beswaarlik daarsonder kan oorleef. Die bevindinge van die onderhoude en die gevolgtrekkings wat gemaak is beaam vier realiteite: eerstens dat die daling in befondsing nie beperk is tot die organisasies wat aan die studie deelgeneem het nie, maar burgerlike samelewing as ʼn geheel. Die tweede realiteit berus by die feit dat die globale finansiële krisis inderdaad die Instituut van Demokrasie en die ‘Treatment Action Campaign’ op kommerwekkende maniere beïnvloed het, nie net in terme van die organisasies se oorlewing nie, maar ook in terme van die behoud van Suid-Afrika se jong en soms brose demokrasie. Die derde realiteit dui op ander uitdagings wat skenkersfondse beïnvloed het soos Suid-Afrika se middel inkomstestatus, ʼn fokusverskuiwing van skenkingsgeoriënteerdheid tot skenker-spesifieke probleme. Die vierde realiteit wat uitgewys is dwing die studie om tot die gevolgtrekking te kom dat finansiële hulpbronne ʼn noodsaaklikheid vir die behoud van burgerlike gemeenskapsorganisasies is. In die lig van die rol wat burgerlike gemeenskap in demokrasie speel, is die bevindings van die studie kommerwekkend.

Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of the global financial, economic, and food price crises on microfinance institutions (MFIs), and on the microfinance industry in general as well as to illuminate microfinance‘s way forward in the medium-term (2-3 year) future. The research report took the form of an international survey representing the responses of 59 MFIs in 39 countries. It is unique in its focus on microfinance practitioners from MFIs of all sizes and profit orientations, and that it only sought responses from the six developing regions of the world—Latin American and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific. This report identifies 23 impacts of the crises and groups them into four classifications—client impacts, liquidity and profitability impacts, MFI growth and development impacts, and political and reputational impacts. This study demonstrates that the crises have affected MFIs around the world profoundly, and that MFIs have faced a resilient hierarchy of impact groups. Across MFI regions, sizes, ages, product offerings, registration status classifications, and affiliations, the four impact groups were shown to maintain the same order of severity, with client impacts being the category of biggest concern of MFI respondents. Also severe were liquidity and profitability impacts. The least severe categories of impacts were found to be MFI growth and development impacts and political and reputational impacts, respectively. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of microfinance practitioner responses, this report establishes an overall ranking of the 23 impacts the global crises are having on the industry. The analysis has further revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa reported the highest impacts of the crises out of all the regions surveyed. The size of an MFI affects its resilience against the crises, with small MFIs being more severely affected than large MFIs. Age was found to have an inverse relationship with MFI impact ratings, and there were very few significant differences between for- and non-profit MFIs. This research report has demonstrated that the benefits afforded to MFIs by accepting deposits may have been over-promoted by industry observers during the early stages of the crises, as no apparent benefits have emerged from responses to this survey. The report concludes with a summary of respondent indications about the way forward for the microfinance industry.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The use of leading indicators provides a valuable method to predict changes in macro-economic variables. However, the accuracy of the various models using leading indicators is a topic of constant debate. This study aimed to identify whether leading indicator models predicting residential house price changes performed as well during the recent global financial crisis (fourth quarter 2007 to second quarter 2012) as during the period directly before the crisis. Several potential drivers of the South African property market were identified with the help of previous studies on this topic. Following that, a quantitative analysis was done and single leading indicator models were built using regression analysis to evaluate the importance of each independent variable. This information was used to create a composite leading index for the South African housing market. The accuracy of these models were then compared to predict the changes in house prices during the period preceding the recent global economic crisis.It was found that the ability of these leading indicator models to predict house price changes during the recent global economic crisis decreased significantly.

This dissertation consists of two empirical papers that explore recent phenomena in Banking and Microfinance Performance. Chapter 1, “Market Power and Bank Performance in MENA Countries,” examines the determinants of market power in 12 Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), specifically within six Gulf Cooperation Countries and six non-Gulf countries. We examine the dynamics of bank competition in MENA countries, provide an up-to-date assessment of market power, investigate the factors impacting bank competition, and explore the evolution of market power during the financial crisis. Our results show an overall increase in market power following the GFC for both regions. We find that bank size, capitalization, and diversification affect market power differently in the pre-crisis and post-crisis years. Larger banks enjoy cost advantages and the diversification impact on market power has decreased in the post-crisis years and the impact of capitalization on market power increased during the GFC. Overall, banks with higher capitalization can better weather the crisis. Chapter 2, “The impact of firm-level characteristic and county-specific attributes on the performance and efficiency of the Microfinance institutions,” estimates the impact of country-specific macro-variables and firm-specific attributes on the financial performance and the efficiency of microfinance institutions (MFIs). We use a large international up-to-date database consisting of over 10,000 firm-years for MFIs over 89 countries during the period 2008-2015. Several interesting findings emerge: a) regulation and outreach are negatively correlated. b) There is a negative and highly statistically significant correlation between the percentage of female borrowers and loan size, which is evidence of “mission drift”. c) An increase in the percentage of female board member has positive and statistically significant effect on MFIs profitability and ROA; which emphasizes the importance of female participation in leading position in MFIs.

A financial crisis in 2007 changed the development of the global financial system. A lot of financial innovations, although they cannot be considered the only reason of the crisis, affected the critical situation reasonably. The initial crisis of the financial system soon transferred into real economy. German banking system suffered from negative effects of the financial crisis. The federal government sets up a Special fund for stabilization of the financial market (Soffin) to help the financial sector. Germany is the second largest exporter in the world and the fall of the foreign demand meant a depression of its export. The Czech financial system (banking) was not affected too seriously during the initial period of the financial crisis. The main reason of this was that the majority of Czech banks are controlled by foreign subjects which meant that risky businesses were implemented by principal companies. The crisis transferred into real economy through the channel of foreign trade.

This thesis studies the relationship between efficient working capital management and firm profitability, and if the global financial crisis has affected the relationship. Previous literature has presented inconsistent results regarding the impact of working capital management on firm profitability, finding both negative and positive effects. It has also been argued that the global financial crisis has increased the attention of and possibly changed the attitude towards working capital management as a strategy in order to increase firm profitability. In the study, the cash conversion cycle is used as a measure for working capital management, and return on assets as a measure for firm profitability. The sample in this thesis consists of 1170 observations from 78 Swedish listed companies over the time-period 2003–2017. Both multiple regression analysis and an independent-sample t-test were conducted in order to examine the given relationship. The findings of this thesis indicate that firms can increase their profitability by implementing efficient working capital management. However, the global financial crisis has not brought a change in companies' working capital management.

Prior research on the ability of financial ratios to predict bankruptcies has shown a significant difference between the companies that went into bankruptcy and those that survived. This paper investigates whether there is a difference in the prediction ability of financial ratios during the last financial crisis compared to relatively normal macroeconomic environments in which most previous studies have been conducted. We use univariate analysis to compare companies that went into bankruptcy during 2010 and 2011 with companies that remained active. Our dataset consists of 51 failed companies that are matched with 102 companies that remained active. All companies were Swedish limited companies with more than 50 employees and the comparison is made with 26 financial ratios. Our result indicates that financial ratios were better tools to predict bankruptcy during the crisis than during more stable macroeconomic conditions. In total 24 of the analyzed financial ratios differed significantly between the two populations and many of them showed significance earlier prior to the bankruptcy than in comparable studies.

Introduction and background: The 1990s crisis and the global financial crisis year 2008 shows the same indications that the property market was affected negative. The Swedish Property companies had a difficult time on the market when the crisis led to decreased property trade and financing problems for the Property companies. The Swedish property companies became less attractive on the market and contributed to a drop in prices on investment property. Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to examine if there is any relation between the Swedish Property companies impairments on their investment property and the global financial crisis year 2008. Method: The essay is based on a quantitative study where we examined Swedish Property companies’ annual reports. We answered our questions and our purpose from the empirical data that we collected from the annual reports. Conclusions: The study resulted in that we found a correlation between the Swedish Property companies’ impairments on their investment properties and the global financial crisis year 2008. However, we found that the Swedish Property companies’ impairments were lower than market indications prove.

The purpose of this study is to examine the volatility spillover among a country&rsquo / s foreign exchange, bond and stock markets and the volatility transmission from the global bond, stock and commodity markets to these local financial markets. The sample for the study includes data from both emerging and developed economies in the time period between 2004 and 2011. A multivariate GARCH methodology with the BEKK representation is applied for the local financial markets and global variables are included as exogenous variables into the model. The volatility integration of the financial markets of the emerging economies is stronger compared to the integration of the developed economies. Global variables have a spillover effect on the developed markets only after the global financial crisis, whereas they significantly affect the volatility in emerging markets for both the pre- and post-crisis period. North American countries in the sample, U.S. and Mexico, have low local volatility integration in the pre-crisis era and the integration rises in the post-crisis period. Moreover, they are more open to the internal and global short-term shocks in the post-crisis period. Germany and Turkey are the representatives of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region and they have high local market integration and are open to global shocks for both sub-periods. Far Eastern markets, Japan and Korea, also have high local market integration and their vulnerability to the global effects is large and getting larger for the post-crisis period. The most important limitation of this thesis is the difficulty of reaching sharp generalizations due to the small number of countries analyzed. This limitation can be addressed by the inclusion of a larger number of geographically dispersed countries. The most noteworthy originality of this study is the addition of the exogenous global variables for modeling volatility spillovers. Furthermore, comparison of results for emerging versus developed markets and the pre- versus post-crisis periods is another contribution of this study to the existing literature. The findings of this study can be used by investors interested in assessing the risks of investing internationally.