Before the Velvet Revolution, Mongolia was a very important trading partner of the former Czechoslovakia. The aim of my thesis is to present Mongolia as a potential business partner for today's Czech exporters and investors and see if it is possible to develop mutual economic relations. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter focuses on the general characteristics of Mongolia, for example geographic and demographic data, administrative structure and history. Another chapter is devoted to analysis of the Mongolian market, thus characterizes the political, legal, social and technological environment. The third chapter is focused on the economic characteristics of the country, follows the development of macroeconomic indicators and provides detailed information on foreign trade and analyzes the investment climate. The fourth chapter is about the Mongolian culture, its differences and etiquette of business meetings. The final chapter follows the existing trade relations between the Czech Republic and Mongolia, deals with the specifics of entry of Czech entities and based on information from companies already doing business in Mongolia, the chapter analyzes the suitable fields and possibilities of entry of Czech companies to Mongolia.

Yes / The duration of most collar arrangements provided by governments to encourage early investment in infrastructure, renewable energy facilities, or other projects with social objectives are finite, not perpetual. We extend the previous literature on collar-style arrangements by providing an analytical solution for the idle and active values, as well as the investment triggers, for projects where collars are either finite-lived or retractable. What is the difference between these types of arrangements with their perpetual counterpart? Lots, including different vega signs, and substantially different values for different current price levels. Often, finite and retractable collars justify earlier investment timing than perpetual collars. In general, we demonstrate that the finite-lived and retractable versions have a significant impact on optimal behavior, relative to the perpetual case. An important consideration when negotiating the floors, ceilings, and duration (or signalling the expected duration) of a finite or a retractable collar is the current price level of the output and its expected volatility over the life of the contract. / Carried out within the funding with COMPETE reference n. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006683 (Artur Rodrigues) and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006890 (Paulo J. Pereira), FCT/MEC’s (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.) financial support through national funding and by ERDF through the Operational Programme on Competitiveness and Internationalization - COMPETE 2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.

Esse trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa de 356 firmas brasileiras de capital aberto no período de 1997-2010, considerando a estrutura de propriedade e controle. As firmas são classificadas a priori entre subinvestimento e superinvestimento, e reagrupadas conforme o nível de oportunidades de investimento do setor industrial. Com uma versão do modelo acelerador de investimento, estimado pelo método GMM System, o estudo mostra que essa sensibilidade poderia sinalizar oportunidades de investimento, problemas de agência do fluxo de caixa livre e problemas de assimetria de informação. Particularmente, discute-se que o superinvestimento pode ser oriundo tanto dos problemas de agência do fluxo de caixa livre quanto ser uma sinalização ao mercado do volume de oportunidades de investimento. Além disso, também é investigado se firmas com controle familiar, estruturadas como pirâmides e pirâmides controladas por família têm influência sobre o volume de recursos próprios aplicados para financiar os investimentos. As estimativas mostram que os investimentos das firmas consideradas com subinvestimento e grandes oportunidades de investimento podem não ser sensíveis ao fluxo de caixa quando o excesso de direito de voto sobre o direito de propriedade do maior acionista é baixo. Por outro lado, para as firmas consideradas com superinvestimento e poucas oportunidades de investimento, o controle familiar e a pirâmide controlada por família poderiam intensificar essa sensibilidade, caso o controlador detenha níveis extremos de excesso de controle. Esse estudo proporciona evidências de que a maior aplicação de recursos próprios nos investimentos das firmas com superinvestimento e grandes oportunidades de investimento seria, principalmente, uma característica de firmas familiares com o menor desvio entre o direito de voto e o direito de propriedade. Como uma análise adicional, o presente estudo investiga se a relação entre a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa e o excesso de controle do maior acionista é não linear. Os resultados estimados evidenciam a não linearidade dessa relação, exceto para as firmas piramidais familiares classificadas com superinvestimento e poucas oportunidades de investimento. / This study investigates the investment-cash flow sensitivity of a sample of 356 Brazilian listed firms on the period of 1997-2010, considering the ownership and control structure. Firms are grouped into underinvestment and overinvestment, and re-classified according to industrial investment opportunities. Using a version of the accelerator investment model, estimated by the System GMM, the results show that the investment-cash flow sensitivity may indicate asymmetric information, investment opportunities and agency problems of free cash flow. Specifically, it is discussed that the overinvestment may be signaling high investment opportunities or agency problems of free cash flow. The purpose of this study is also investigate whether family control, pyramidal ownership structure, and pyramidal controlled by families (pyramidal-family firms) can influence the level of internal capital used to finance investments. The results show that the investment of underinvestment firms with high industrial investment opportunities may be not sensitive to cash flow when the excess of control rights over cash flow rights of the largest ultimate shareholder is lower. However, for overinvestment firms with low industrial investment opportunities, the family control and pyramidal-family may intensify the investment-cash flow sensitivity when the excess of control rights is high. For lower levels of excess of control rights, the results support that higher investment-cash flow sensitivity of overinvestment firms with high industrial investment opportunities may signal profitability potential of family firms. As an additional analysis, it is also investigated whether the relationship between investment-cash flow sensitivity and the excess of control rights is non-linear. The results confirm the non-linearity of this relationship, except to pyramidal-family firms into the overinvestment group with low industrial investment opportunities.

The dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay investigates if market illiquidity is a significant determinant of capital structure decisions. We hypothesize that firms would likely compare the illiquidity of two sources of external funding at a given point in time and issue the one with lower illiquidity. Therefore, if the level of illiquidity is a key driver of firms’ capital structure decisions in that year, the higher the level of stocks illiquidity, the more of its financing needs are satisfied by the issuance of debt, and the higher the level of bonds illiquidity, the less of its financing needs are satisfied by the issuance of debt. We find that illiquidity of the two sources of external funding affects significantly the capital structure decisions of U.S. firms over the sample period 2003-2018. Specifically, the coefficient of relative bonds illiquidity is negative, large, and strongly significant regardless of leverage measurement, and the coefficient of relative stocks illiquidity is positive, large, and strongly significant regardless of leverage measurement. The second essay investigates if markets illiquidity is a significant determinant of investment decisions. We argue that an increase in investment opportunities due to an increase in bonds liquidity is for the decrease of the firm’s cost of capital and the decrease in its issuance cost. With a lower cost of capital and a higher ability to issue securities, firms are able to undertake more investment opportunities. We find that bonds and stocks illiquidity affect significantly the investment decisions of U.S. firms over the sample period 2003-2018. Specifically, the coefficients of bonds and stocks illiquidity are negative, large, and strongly significant regardless of investment measurement. Also, we find the effect of bonds illiquidity is more pronounced for financially constrained firms using different financial constraints measures.

Esse trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa de 356 firmas brasileiras de capital aberto no período de 1997-2010, considerando a estrutura de propriedade e controle. As firmas são classificadas a priori entre subinvestimento e superinvestimento, e reagrupadas conforme o nível de oportunidades de investimento do setor industrial. Com uma versão do modelo acelerador de investimento, estimado pelo método GMM System, o estudo mostra que essa sensibilidade poderia sinalizar oportunidades de investimento, problemas de agência do fluxo de caixa livre e problemas de assimetria de informação. Particularmente, discute-se que o superinvestimento pode ser oriundo tanto dos problemas de agência do fluxo de caixa livre quanto ser uma sinalização ao mercado do volume de oportunidades de investimento. Além disso, também é investigado se firmas com controle familiar, estruturadas como pirâmides e pirâmides controladas por família têm influência sobre o volume de recursos próprios aplicados para financiar os investimentos. As estimativas mostram que os investimentos das firmas consideradas com subinvestimento e grandes oportunidades de investimento podem não ser sensíveis ao fluxo de caixa quando o excesso de direito de voto sobre o direito de propriedade do maior acionista é baixo. Por outro lado, para as firmas consideradas com superinvestimento e poucas oportunidades de investimento, o controle familiar e a pirâmide controlada por família poderiam intensificar essa sensibilidade, caso o controlador detenha níveis extremos de excesso de controle. Esse estudo proporciona evidências de que a maior aplicação de recursos próprios nos investimentos das firmas com superinvestimento e grandes oportunidades de investimento seria, principalmente, uma característica de firmas familiares com o menor desvio entre o direito de voto e o direito de propriedade. Como uma análise adicional, o presente estudo investiga se a relação entre a sensibilidade do investimento ao fluxo de caixa e o excesso de controle do maior acionista é não linear. Os resultados estimados evidenciam a não linearidade dessa relação, exceto para as firmas piramidais familiares classificadas com superinvestimento e poucas oportunidades de investimento. / This study investigates the investment-cash flow sensitivity of a sample of 356 Brazilian listed firms on the period of 1997-2010, considering the ownership and control structure. Firms are grouped into underinvestment and overinvestment, and re-classified according to industrial investment opportunities. Using a version of the accelerator investment model, estimated by the System GMM, the results show that the investment-cash flow sensitivity may indicate asymmetric information, investment opportunities and agency problems of free cash flow. Specifically, it is discussed that the overinvestment may be signaling high investment opportunities or agency problems of free cash flow. The purpose of this study is also investigate whether family control, pyramidal ownership structure, and pyramidal controlled by families (pyramidal-family firms) can influence the level of internal capital used to finance investments. The results show that the investment of underinvestment firms with high industrial investment opportunities may be not sensitive to cash flow when the excess of control rights over cash flow rights of the largest ultimate shareholder is lower. However, for overinvestment firms with low industrial investment opportunities, the family control and pyramidal-family may intensify the investment-cash flow sensitivity when the excess of control rights is high. For lower levels of excess of control rights, the results support that higher investment-cash flow sensitivity of overinvestment firms with high industrial investment opportunities may signal profitability potential of family firms. As an additional analysis, it is also investigated whether the relationship between investment-cash flow sensitivity and the excess of control rights is non-linear. The results confirm the non-linearity of this relationship, except to pyramidal-family firms into the overinvestment group with low industrial investment opportunities.

The task of the thesis is to elaborate on investment opportunities, wchich are described in detail and to determine the ideal portfolio, that will be financed by dollar-cost averaging. The main investments include stocks, bonds, precious metals, mutual funds and more. Subsequently, the state of individual investments, their opportunities, but also the risks associated with them will be evaluated.

The task of the thesis is to elaborate on investment opportunities, wchich are described in detail and to determine the ideal portfolio, that will be financed by dollar-cost averaging. The main investments include stocks, bonds, precious metals, mutual funds and more. Subsequently, the state of individual investments, their opportunities, but also the risks associated with them will be evaluated.

We are living in the era of financial uncertainty and high volatility on financial markets. According to some experts, these circumstances will have a significant impact on the investment conventions of Czech investors in the future. Economists are afraid of even stronger conservatism and skepticism on the field of investment tools. The gab between the yield of Czech and American or Australian family portfolio will be most probably deepen thanks to this. My master thesis has the goal to briefly define financial products which are available for Czech investors. Furthermore I also explain reasons of significant differences between the average portfolio of assets and credits of Czech, eastern and western European family.

The thesis is focused on finding out an innovative potential in Vysočina region. Theoretical part is concerned with the theory of competitiveness and innovation. The other part of thesis deals with the development of foreign direct investments, their forms and location factors on which the investor decides. The end of theoretical part summarizes the theory of brownfields and industrial zones. Whole theory is completed with nationwide statistics from all those areas. In the practical part of the thesis are carried out the analyses that aimed to evaluate the investment potential of Vysočina region. It is an analysis of the region in terms of transport and technical infrastructure, educational and demographic structure and analysis of industrial zones, brownfields, innovations and foreign direct investments in the Vysočina region. Finally the SWOT analysis is completed and the investment opportunities of the Vysočina region are evaluated.

Ukrainian investment climate is attractive and repulsive at the same time. Although Ukraine occupies a strategic geographic position, it is a crossroad between one of the world's largest market European Union and one of the world's rapidly growing markets Russia; country of rich natural resources and manpower with a high level of education, which makes it an attractive investment environment, but still it has not yet reached its expected potential, because of inability to minimize government intervention in the operation of markets, remove administrative barriers that hinder business and perform target privatization and become attractive to foreign and domestic investors. That's why, the main objective of Master Thesis is to analyse and overview the investment climate of Ukraine through the framework of political, legal, economic and social conditions, risks and opportunities that ensure and promote investment activities for domestic and foreign investors. Thesis is concentrated on the notion of investment, types of investments and investment climate in general in order to benefit from knowledge how the investment can be protected and be eligible to take claim to dispute settlement. The research is analysing the recent economic performance and macroeconomic policy of the country; focused on general overview of investment legislation base and current regulation of foreign investment regime; describe the basic challenges and opportunities to invest in Ukraine.