This study analysed the short- and long-run interactions between the exchange rate and different types of investments in South Africa from 1970 to 2014. The study focussed on the portfolio theory, the life cycle of investment and the accelerator model of investment, which all found that investment plays an important part in the economic growth and development prospects of a country, thus a healthy investment environment needs to be present in order to attract investment inflows into the country. The conceptualisation of exchange rates focussed on the definitions and types of exchange rates that are in existence, as well as the theories of exchange rate determination which included the purchasing power parity, the interest rate parity, the portfolio balance approach and the Balassa-Samuelson model. These theories are all different but are essential for this study as assumptions made by these theories are relevant to the explanations of exchange rates. The Vector Autoregressive model (VAR), a multivariate Johansen co-integration approach and Granger causality test were conducted to analyse the interactions between the exchange rate and different types of investments. The short-run analysis found that there was a short-run relationship between the exchange rate and different types of investments in South Africa. However, this short-run interaction were found to be small, thus, not significant enough to cause disruptions to the exchange rate and to the inflow of investments into the country. The long-run analysis found that a there was a long-run relationship between the exchange rate and different types of investments in South Africa. This long-run relationship was also found to be negative. This study concluded that investments have a negative, long-run effect on the exchange rate, suggesting that a fall in the investments would cause an increase in the exchange rate in the long-run.

The concept of investments in international agreements on investment protection The concept of an investment is one of the fundamental constructs in the international investment law, as it is crucial for determination of bilateral or multilateral investment protection treaties' scope of protection regarding particular economic activity of investors in the host state territory. The purpose of this thesis is to provide examples of possible solutions of the dichotomy in the apprehension of the investment concept and its interpretation in practice, in particular with regards to the decisions of arbitral tribunals. A historical analysis of understanding of the investment concept is provided together with its current and historical interpretations in bilateral and multilateral investment protection treaties; with an emphasis that at present, there is no uniform legal definition of the concept of an investment. An absence of such definition does not limit the flow of foreign investments or the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral investment protection treaties, which contain broad definitions of this concept. At the same time, it is possible to trace a tendency to determine objective elements common to all investments, while the primary inspiration is drawn from the economic science and its concept of...

DEFINITION OF INVESTMENT IN INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION AND PROTECTION AGREEMENTS Abstract Definition of the investment is of particular importance in terms of scope of the rights and obligations arising out of the investment protection treaties. This is the case especially when we are in the presence of dispute between the foreign investor and the host state where definition forms the basis of the tribunal's jurisdiction. The object of this thesis is in spite of the absence of globally accepted legal definition of "foreign investment" to attempt to summarize most of the historical and current concepts of this notion and to provide by means of the various legal sources, case law as well as the doctrinal points of view the comprehensive approach to its content in the modern international investment law. However this absence of the general legal definition of the international investment was not considered as the obstacle for its use. Instead it represents the advantage in terms of potentially wide field of its application and the flexibility resulting from its openness. Bilateral investment treaties representing the mainstream of the regulation of international investments covers quite a wide field of economic activities to which the investment tribunals in the course of their function attempted to draw some...

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Building (Property Development and Management), Johannesburg, 2017 / In 2013 new legislation was introduced allowing for the creation of a new listed property entity called a Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT). Previously the listed property sector was dominated by two main types of property which were Property Unit Trusts (PUT) and Property Loan Stock Companies (PLS). The introduction of the REIT entity allowed existing listed property companies to convert to REIT status and for new companies to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as REITs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of REIT implementation and the conversion of PLS and PUT to REIT status on shareholder wealth in South Africa. The study evaluates the change in shareholder wealth through the use of abnormal return calculations during events that led up to the implementation of REITs and conversion to REIT status. The findings show that implementation and conversion to REITs did not result in significant industry gains in shareholder wealth. The events leading to the implementation of REITs however showed positive abnormal returns out lining positive sentiments in the market. For the companies that converted to REIT status their shareholder wealth had negative performance returns. Immediate gains in shareholder wealth are not present. This indicating that the use of REITs as an investment will have to be monitored in the long term. / XL2018

Vienas pagrindinių sėkmingos ūkio plėtros veiksnių yra investicijos. Ūkio augimas ilguoju laikotarpiu įmanomas tik kuriant, stiprinant ir išlaikant mūsų ekonomikos tarptautinį konkurencingumą, Lietuva, būdama mažos ir atviros ekonomikos šalimi, yra priklausoma nuo sėkmingų ekonominių santykių su kitomis bendrosios Europos Sąjungos rinkomis ir trečiosiomis šalimis. Šio magistrinio darbo tikslas – nustatyti ir įvertinti investavimo proceso trukdžius ir numačius priemones, leidžiančias pašalinti kliūtis, kurios trukdo pritraukti tiesiogines vidaus ir užsienio investicijas, skatinti Lietuvos verslo plėtrą ir šalies ekonomikos augimą. Magistriniame darbe atliktas veiksmų, skirtų tiesioginių užsienio investicijų pritraukimui, analizė – tyrimas leido nustatyti, kad Lietuva neišnaudoja savo ekonominio potencialo ir pagal ekonominius rodiklius atsilieka nuo savo kaimynių (ypač nuo Estijos). Galima konstatuoti, kad šiuo metu Lietuvoje yra sudarytos palankios sąlygos investuoti į įvairias pramonės ir verslo sritis. Vis dėlto, stokojama motyvacinių, patrauklumą didinančių veiksnių, užtikrinančių, kad būtų imtasi konkrečių veiksmų. Todėl itin svarbu išryškinti veiksnius, kurie, investuotojų nuomone, apsunkina investicijas ir kelia didesnes ar mažesnes problemas. Aptariant veiksnius, lemiančius Lietuvos patrauklumą investicijoms, atkreiptinas dėmesys, jog teigiama ir neigiama TUI įtakos neatsiejamos, ypač joms veikiant šalies ūkyje, pereinančiame nuo planinio prie rinkos ūkio, nes čia... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Investment is one of the major factors determining successful development of an economy. In the long term, economic growth is achievable only fostering, strengthening and maintaining economic competitiveness on the international scale. Lithuania with its small and open economy is dependent on the successful economic ties with the European Union single market and the third countries. This Master thesis aims at identifying and assessing the impediments to investment process and providing for the measures allowing to remove the obstacles encountered when attracting direct domestic and foreign investment, and to encourage the development of the Lithuanian business and growth of the national economy. The Master thesis includes the analysis research of actions aimed at attracting direct foreign investment, allowing to conclude that Lithuania does not exploit its economic potential and is lagging behind its neighbours (in particular Estonia) according to economic indicators. It is possible to state that at the moment Lithuania has favourable conditions for investment into various areas of industry and business. However, there is a lack of motivation and appeal ensuring concrete actions to be taken. Therefore, it is essential to single out the factors, which frustrate investment and pose more or less serious problems in the opinion of investors. When examining the factors determining Lithuania’s attractiveness for investment, note should be taken of the interrelation between... [to full text]

Ekonomikos magistro baigiamojo darbo tema yra aktuali, kadangi užsienio kapitalo vaidmuo šalių ekonomikos plėtrai tampa vis didesnis. Užsienio investicijos - sparčiausias technologijos perdavimo būdas. Besivystančios šalys būtų sugaišusios daug dešimtmečių, kad pasiektų tą technologijos tobulumo lygį, kurį išsivysčiusios šalys buvo pasiekusios jau amžiaus viduryje, jei ne užsienio investicijos. Šio magistro baigiamojo darbo tikslas - ištirti Lietuvos galimybes ir perspektyvas pritraukiant tiesiogines užsienio investicijas, bei pateikti pasiūlymus joms pagerinti. Darbe nagrinėjami tiesioginių užsienio investicijų teoriniai aspektai, aptariama tiesioginių užsienio investicijų samprata, formos, strategijos, teisinis reglamentavimas. Analizuojamas teoriškai pagrįstas tiesioginių užsienio investicijų poveikis vietinės ekonomikos plėtrai, tiriami veiksniai turintys įtakos tiesioginėms užsienio investicijoms, bei priežastys palankiam investiciniam klimatui sukurti. Remiantis įvairiais statistikos šaltiniais: Lietuvos statistikos departamento, Ekonominio bendradarbiavimo ir plėtros organizacijos, Jungtinių Tautų prekybos ir plėtros konferencijos, Pasaulio Ekonomikos Forumo, Pasaulio banko, bei Lietuvos bankų ataskaitomis, įvairiais metodais analizuojama tiesioginių užsienio investicijų dinamika Lietuvoje ir lyginama su pasirinktomis Europos Sąjungos šalimis. Tyrimas įvertina Lietuvos galimybes ir perspektyvas pritraukiant investicijas, išskiria bendrus veiksnius, kurie lemia užsienio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Final Economic Master's thesis is relevant, because the role of foreign capital for economic development is becoming greater. Inflow of foreign capital can provide the fastest way for developing countries to acquire industrial technology for economic development. Developing countries would be lost many decades to reach that level of excellence in technology, which developed countries had already reached in middle age, if not foreign investment. The Master's objective - is to explore the possibilities and prospects for attracting foreign direct investment in Lithuania, and to make proposals to improve them. Master's paper deals with foreign direct investment in theoretical aspects, discusses the concept of foreign direct investment, forms, strategies, legal framework. Analyzes the impact of foreign direct investment to local economic development, examines the factors affecting foreign direct investment, and the reasons for the favorable investment climate to create. Based on various statistical sources: the Lithuanian Statistics Department, Economic Cooperation and Development Organization, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and Lithuanian banks statistics, the dynamics of foreign direct investment in Lithuania was examined and compared with selected European Union countries. Conditions of promotion of foreign investments are discussed, features attractive for investors and causing doubts and concerns when undertaking... [to full text]

Magistro baigiamajame darbe išanalizuota ir pateikta finansinių investicinių projektų vertinimo metodika, ši metodika pateikiama praktiškai, pritaikant ją vertinant konkretų finansinį investicinį projektą – mažųjų ir pramoginių laivų prieplaukos statybą Klaipėdos valstybiniame jūrų uoste. Pirmoje darbo dalyje teoriniu aspektu tiriamas ir apibendrinimas finansinių investicinių projektų finansinio, ekonominio ir socialinio vertinimo mokslininkų išvadų turinys, taip pat pateikiamos investavimo ir vertinimo sąvokų apibrėžtys. Antroje darbo dalyje identifikuojamas nagrinėjamo projekto aktualumas, pasirinkimas, aptariamas ir numatomas šio projekto preliminarus ekonominio – socialinio kontekstas, pateikiamas konkretaus minimo projekto finansinio, ekonominio – socialinio vertinimo metodas, aptariamos galimos alternatyvos. Trečioje darbo dalyje apskaičiuojamas ir įvertinamas naujos mažųjų ir pramoginių laivų prieplaukos Lietuvoje poreikis, pateikiami ir apskaičiuojami finansiniai projekto rodikliai, kuriais remiantis apskaičiuojami ir ekonominiai bei socialiniai nagrinėjamo projekto rodikliai. Pagrindžiami finansinio investicinio projekto ekonominis – socialinis teigiami vidaus ir išorės efektai, įrodomas projekto naudingumas investuotojui ir visuomenei. / In this Master's Work there are analyzes and presented the method of the financial investment projects economical – social assessment. This method is taken into practice by assessing the special financial project of water transport sector, which is – „Small and pleasure boat marina construction in port of Klaipeda“. In first part of the work it can be found a summary of scientific papers and research findings, definitions of related concepts. In second part, there are identified problems of the economical – social field discussed in the context of water transport in Lithuania. Also there it is shown the specific method of the financial project assessment. And finally, in the last part of the Master's Work it is shown what financial, economic, social indicators of the financial project were found by adopting the method. According to these indicators it is presented what advantage affect can be reached by approving this specific financial project.

Bakgrund: Investeringsplanering utgör en stor del av företagets totala planing. Behovet attinvestera har under senare år tilltagit. Anledningar till detta är bland annat;strukturomvandling, ökad priskonkurrens, optimism samt ökad ekonomisk aktivitet. Specifiktför tillverkningsindustrin är ökade kapacitetsbehov och nya produktionskrav.Tillverkningsindustrin är vidare investeringsintensiv och har under senare tid upplevt ett ökatinvesteringbehov.Problemdiskussion: Investeringar är ett ämne där ett brett utbud av tidigare forskningföreligger. Dock är processen ett relativt outforskat område. Förhållandena i små- ochmedelstora tillverkningsföretag är inte behandlade i någon nämnvärd omfattning, vilketinnebär att det finns en avsaknad av empirisk kunskap. När medelstora företag studeras tashänsyn till hela verksamheten och de förändringar de pådriver, därav är helainvesteringsprocessen relevant. Ser man till hela processen kan kalkylen vara av underordnadbetydelse. Detta ger grund till att klassiska kalkylmetoder inte bör fungera som endabeslutsunderlag, de kan inte tillgodose en fullständig bild av hur investeringen kan komma attpåverka företaget.Syfte: Vårt syfte med denna studie är att beskriva och förklara fallföretagensinvesteringsprocess fram till och med investeringsbeslut. Vårt syfte är vidare att beskriva ochatt förklara vilka faktorer som är av betydelse för fallföretagen vid investeringsbeslut.Metod: Vi har i uppsatsen använt oss av en induktiv ansats med en kvalitativforskningsinriktning. Vår forskningsdesign är flerfallstudie. Insamling av material har skettgenom personliga intervjuer med tre mellanstora företag i tillverkningsbranschen.Slutsats: Investeringsprocessen för de tre studerade fallföretagen var i många fall likartad.Processerna stämde inte överens med någon enskild process som tagits fram av tidigareforskare men genom att plocka olika delar från de olika processmodellerna kunde hela deinvesteringsprocesser som identifierats förklaras utifrån dessa modeller. Den finansiella faktorsom fallföretagen använde sig av för att jämföra investeringsalternativ var i samtliga fallPayback- metoden. Denna metod användes huvudsakligen på grund av dess enkelhet. Ickefinansiellafaktorer som påverkade investeringsbeslut var huvudsakligenkvalitetsförbättringar, val av leverantörer, arbetsmiljö, service samt produktivitet. / Background: The investment planning is a big part of a company's total planning. The needof investing has increased over the last years. The reason for this is for example; structuralchanges, increased price competition, optimism and increased economic activity. Increasedneed of capacity and new requirements in production are specific reasons for manufacturingcompanies. Manufacturing companies invests a lot and has experienced an increased need ofinvesting over the last years.Problem: Investments is a topic in which a wide range of previous research exists. However,the process is a relatively unexplored area. Conditions in the small-and medium-sizedmanufacturing companies are not discussed to a significant extent, which means that there is alack of empirical knowledge. When medium-sized companies are studied the entire companyis taken into account, hence, the entire investment process is relevant. Looking at the entireprocess, calculations can be of secondary importance. This tells us that classical calculationmethods should not serve as the sole factor for decision making as they can't give a fullpicture of how the investment could impact the company.Purpose: Our purpose with this study is to describe and explain the case-studie's investmentprocess until decision making. Our object is to describe and explain the factors that are takinginto account in the case companies when making investment decisions.Method: We have in this paper used an inductive approach with a qualitative researchapproach. Our research design is a multiple case-study. Collection of material has been madethrough personal interviews with one respondent at three medium sized companies in themanufacturing industry.Conclusion: The investment processes in the three studied companies were in many wayssimilar. The processes were not compatible with any single process developed by previousresearchers, but by picking different parts of the various process models the investmentprocesses identified could be explained by these models. The financial factor that the casecompanies used to compare investment options was in all cases the payback method. Thismethod was used mainly because of its simplicity. Non-financial factors affecting investmentdecisions were mainly quality improvements, selection of suppliers, service, workenvironment and productivity.

During the last few decades, "regular people" have become increasingly involved with investing in the stock market. One way of doing this, which has become more and more popular, is to invest in mutual funds. The mutual fund industry has, due to its explosive growth, been described as a success story of the 20th century. These days, sources report that over 70% of the Swedish population actively invests in mutual funds. This thesis is an investigation into consumer decision making regarding one specific type of mutual fund: Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). SRI profiled mutual funds are different from "regular" mutual funds in that they incorporate social, ethical, and environmental (SEE) criteria. In this manner, SRI profiled mutual funds could be said to have two separate dimensions. The regular financial dimension has the purpose of generating a high level of financial return while managing risk. The socially responsible dimension, on the other hand, focuses on incorporating SEE issues into the investment process. However, consumers that desire to choose mutual funds that will both perform well financially and have a good socially responsible dimension face a more difficult decision than consumers who choose to invest in "regular" mutual funds. As each of the dimensions come with its own set of challenges which the consumer must overcome, choosing an appropriate combination of these is a difficult task. In this manner, consumers of SRI profiled mutual funds have to navigate through a complex decision making environment to arrive at a good choice. Based in this notion of decision making in complex environments, this thesis investigates how consumers combine their "traditional" financial objectives with their "additional" SEE consideration and examines the impact of personal factors related to these two areas on consumer investment in SRI profiled mutual funds. Four separate essays on these topics, each investigating a specific stage in the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (1968) consumer decision making process, are presented. Moreover, in order to understand how complexity impacts consumer decision making in the area, the results of each study are analyzed against a conceptual framework focusing on the complexity of the market. The results show that consumers of SRI profiled mutual funds care about both financial and SEE issues. However, how consumers combine these in their decision making differs. Factors, such as the stage of the purchase decision making process, personal abilities, preferences, and perceptions are found to impact consumer decision making.  Against this background, this thesis generates an increased understanding of consumer decision making in complex decision making environments in general and of SRI profiled mutual funds in particular.

This study explores the contemporary practice of Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment and concludes that it is based on an ad hoc construct of empirically derived principles, driven mainly by the commercial self-interest of large financial institutions and fund managers. It explores the relationship between investment and morality, to posit a background theory of investment ethics. The study then proposes a move away from the narrow focus of ethical investment to a broader concern for investment ethics. The study introduces the discipline of investment ethics and examines the criteria that form the basis of morality in investment decisions. The resultant theory is intended to be of practical significance in the business and investment domains and to assist potential investors to evaluate investment opportunities in the context of a consistent set of substantive normative ethical principles.