Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In the process of describing the background to the problem, the author will in this section firstly, explain what the African Union (AU) has implemented, secondly, explain the relevant rules and regulations that need to be adhered to as World Trade Organisation (WTO) members and lastly, explain how the self-financing mechanism might be in contravention of the rules and regulations of the WTO required to be adhered to by all WTO Members.

A new estimator for calculating the optimal expected return of a self-financing portfolio is proposed, by considering the joint impact of the sample mean vector and the sample covariance matrix. A shrinkage covariance matrix is designed to substitute the sample covariance matrix in the optimization procedure, which leads to an estimate of the optimal expected return smaller than the plug-in estimate. The new estimator is also applicable for both p < n and p ≥ n. Simulation studies are conducted for two empirical data sets. The simulation results show that the new estimator is superior to the previous methods. / By the seminal work of Markowitz in 1952, modern portfolio theory studies how to maximize the portfolio expected return for a given risk, or minimize the risk for a given expected return. Since these two issues are equivalent, this thesis only focuses on the study of the optimal expected return of a self-financing portfolio for a given risk. / Finally, under certain assumptions, we extend our research in the framework of random matrix theory. / The mean-variance portfolio optimization procedure requires two crucial inputs: the theoretical mean vector and the theoretical covariance matrix of the portfolio in one period. Since the traditional plug-in method using the sample mean vector and the sample covariance matrix of the historical data incurs substantial estimation errors, this thesis explores how the sample mean vector and the sample covariance matrix behave in the optimization procedure based on the idea of conditional expectation and finds that the effect of the sample mean vector is an additive process while the effect of the sample covariance matrix is a multiplicative process. / Liu, Yan. / Adviser: Ngai Hang Chan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-06, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

The thesis is focused on the current management concepts of performance measurement, using both financial and non-financial criteria. The selected modern concepts of performance measurement can be found in the theoretical part, the larger part is devoted to the method of financial analysis, which is then applied on the selected building company in the practical part. The result of the work is to evaluate the financial health of selected company using both standard tools of financial analysis as well as less known techniques.

The thesis investigates the link between internal and external funds in financing new investment when asymmetric information is important. In both chapter, the entrepreneur has private information about the value of a project and, if the quality of the project is high, she tries to signal this to outside investors. The first chapter explores the tradeoff between using internal funds and raising external funds by issuing shares or bonds to finance a project. The entrepreneur can delay the project to accumulate internal funds over time from existing operations. This allows an entrepreneur with a high quality project to reduce her reliance on expensive underpriced bond or share issues. However, accumulating funds is also costly because of discounting and the risk that the project disappears. The more valuable the good project, the less the entrepreneur will delay the project, risking its loss, and so the more she relies on external financing. When external financing is sought, the entrepreneur decides to issue bonds or shares. The greater the value of the good project, the more underpriced shares are relative to bonds. Thus an entrepreneur with a highly valuable good project chooses equity and one with a less valuable project chooses debt. Combining the two results shows that for a highly valuable good project, debt is used, and for a less valuable project, internal funds are used. External equity gets squeezed out. Aggregate data for the U.S. confirm that corporate bond issues are a more important source of funds than new share issued. Furthermore, most small firms rely on internal funds and debt, rather than external equity to finance their projects. The second chapter provides a new theory for the underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs). As in the first chapter, underpricing is used as a signal of quality. However, the entrepreneur is risk averse and only underprices when she cannot sell enough primary (new) shares to raise sufficient proceeds from the IPO to cover the cost of the project without diluting her position below that needed to signal a high project value. Underpricing allows the entrepreneur to maintain a high stake in the firm and still make a credible signal of quality. This allows more primary shares to be sold resulting in a net increase in proceeds. The model predicts that underpricing should be greatest among firms that don't sell secondary shares (shares held by insiders) at the IPO and that there should be a positive relationship between the firm's capital requirement and the initial return among this group of firms only. A switching regression framework is used. The probit model is first estimated where the probability of no secondary shares is explained by proxies for a firm's capital requirements. The initial return is then regressed on the same proxies, conditioning on whether the firm sells secondary shares or not and accounting for possible correlation between errors in the selection and regression equations. Strong support is found for the positive relationship between initial return and capital requirements for only firms without secondary share sales, as predicted.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the system of financing of NGOs in social services and to develop their self-financing possibilities, including the practical application of the theoretical basis for the specific NGO. The theoretical part deals with the definition of social services, the Act No. 108/2006 Coll., on social services, legal forms of social services providers, and especially main sources of financing of NGOs in social services with a focus on how these might be self-financing. Practical part includes an analysis of the financing of the civic association OPORA including evaluation and selection of appropriate possibilities of its self-financing.

The thesis investigates the link between internal and external funds in financing new investment when asymmetric information is important. In both chapter, the entrepreneur has private information about the value of a project and, if the quality of the project is high, she tries to signal this to outside investors. The first chapter explores the tradeoff between using internal funds and raising external funds by issuing shares or bonds to finance a project. The entrepreneur can delay the project to accumulate internal funds over time from existing operations. This allows an entrepreneur with a high quality project to reduce her reliance on expensive underpriced bond or share issues. However, accumulating funds is also costly because of discounting and the risk that the project disappears. The more valuable the good project, the less the entrepreneur will delay the project, risking its loss, and so the more she relies on external financing. When external financing is sought, the entrepreneur decides to issue bonds or shares. The greater the value of the good project, the more underpriced shares are relative to bonds. Thus an entrepreneur with a highly valuable good project chooses equity and one with a less valuable project chooses debt. Combining the two results shows that for a highly valuable good project, debt is used, and for a less valuable project, internal funds are used. External equity gets squeezed out. Aggregate data for the U.S. confirm that corporate bond issues are a more important source of funds than new share issued. Furthermore, most small firms rely on internal funds and debt, rather than external equity to finance their projects. The second chapter provides a new theory for the underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs). As in the first chapter, underpricing is used as a signal of quality. However, the entrepreneur is risk averse and only underprices when she cannot sell enough primary (new) shares to raise sufficient proceeds from the IPO to cover the cost of the project without diluting her position below that needed to signal a high project value. Underpricing allows the entrepreneur to maintain a high stake in the firm and still make a credible signal of quality. This allows more primary shares to be sold resulting in a net increase in proceeds. The model predicts that underpricing should be greatest among firms that don't sell secondary shares (shares held by insiders) at the IPO and that there should be a positive relationship between the firm's capital requirement and the initial return among this group of firms only. A switching regression framework is used. The probit model is first estimated where the probability of no secondary shares is explained by proxies for a firm's capital requirements. The initial return is then regressed on the same proxies, conditioning on whether the firm sells secondary shares or not and accounting for possible correlation between errors in the selection and regression equations. Strong support is found for the positive relationship between initial return and capital requirements for only firms without secondary share sales, as predicted. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the water engineering industry from the vantage point of creating funds for the renewal of infrastructure with an emphasis on the situation in small municipalities that run their own water supply networks. On the basis of data analysis for the prices of water and sewer rates and the value of infrastructural facilities it is shown that the networks are underfinanced in a third of the municipalities with a self-reliant management model. There is a lack of finance for their reconstruction and the networks are becoming obsolete. Personal empirical research supported the surmise, that the reason for underfinancing is the mayors' attempt at appealing politics. The hypothesis that artificial decrease of prices indeed leads to higher election gains and a longer term for the mayors, was however not confirmed. The thesis concludes that to reach rectification of the situation and secure creation of funds for the renewal of infrastructure in the examined municipalities, it is necessary to increase awareness within the management of the municipalities regarding the legislative situation and secure consultations by experts.

The Master's Thesis focuses on resource self-sufficiency analysis of four chosen NGOs in culture. Those are theatres Činoherní klub, Semafor, Archa and Dejvické divadlo. All of the organizations underwent the Prague theatre transformation process and became the Public Service Companies. The Thesis investigates, whether the change into to private subject and the rising independence have led also to the increase of resource self-sufficiency and extension of financial resource portfolio. For this purpose the financial statements of the theatres were analysed. The resource self-sufficiency index was put in the context of other financial analysis indices. The Thesis has shown, that although the theatres use at least four financial resources, they are highly dependent on incomes from provided public services and especially on subsidies from the public budgets. The NGOs should improve their level of business activities and fundraising. The resource self-sufficiency of analysed theatres is between 35 and 52 %. While in three cases the self-sufficiency has been increasing, in the last case it has been decreasing continuously.

This diploma thesis is focused on the contribution and importance of financial resources of social entrepreneurship for nonprofit organizations. The main goal is to analyze the evolution of nonprofit organization's funding from Czech public funds and to identify benefits and importance of financial resources of social entrepreneurship for nonprofit organizations. The theoretical part brings description of financial resources for nonprofit organizations and explanation of social entrepreneurship concept and social enterprise definition. The research of diploma thesis brings the analysis of evolution of nonprofit organization's funding from Czech public funds from 1999 to 2009 and the identification of benefits, importance and share of financial resources of social entrepreneurship in specific nonprofit organization - Domov Sue Ryder, o.p.s. The identification of benefits and importance of financial resources of social entrepreneurship is based on the analysis of evolution of sources, costs and own revenues (sources) from 2001 to 2010 in selected nonprofit organization. The output of this diploma thesis is the evaluation of benefits and importance of financial resources of social entrepreneurship for nonprofit organizations.

Cette thèse porte sur l'implantation missionnaire en République démocratique du Congo sous l'administration coloniale belge vers la fin du XIXe siècle. Nous voulons comprendre le phénomène observé de la dépendance financière de cette Église, en situant ses différentes causes ou facteurs exogènes et endogènes notamment son ancrage dans la politique coloniale. Dès le début, elle a bénéficié des subventions de l’État et d'autres avantages importants, dont de vastes étendues de terres. Depuis sa prise en main par la hiérarchie autochtone, période correspondant à la décolonisation, cette Église n'arrive pas à se prendre en charge, obligée de se tourner constamment vers l'extérieur (tes organismes occidentaux de financement) pour assurer ses différents besoins. Or cette politique d'extraversion financière ne rassure plus, vu le contexte socioculturel occidental actuel (diminution des pratiques religieuses, crises financières mondiales, ...). En définitive, il faut à cette Église congolaise longtemps habituée à l'assistance de repenser une nouvelle logique d'action lui permettant de trouver d'autres possibilités pour assurer son autofinancement en vue de sa survie. L'objectif de ce travail est de montrer que des potentialités existent qu'elle peut exploiter: la mobilisation et la gestion rationnelle des ressources humaines et économiques disponibles, la rentabilisation des structures de productions héritées des missionnaires, mais en comptant sur un environnement sociopolitique et économique national favorable et un changement des mentalités des acteurs en présence. / This thesis focuses the missionary presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the Belgian rule towards the end of the Sixth Century. We seek to understand bow this Church came to be financially dependent by looking at the different causes or exogenous and endogenous as well as the roots of this phenomenon within the context of the colonial policy. From the beginning, it has received State subsidies and enjoyed other significant advantages including large tracts of land. Ever since the native hierarchy has taken over, i.e. as from the decolonization, this Church has been unable to support itself and has been obliged constantly seek external aid from western financial bodies in order to meet its needs. But in the light of the current western sociocultural context (decline of religious practices, financial crises worldwide ... ) such a financial extraversion is no longer comforting. Ali things considered, long accustomed as it was to be assisted, this Congolese Church now needs to develop a new course of action through which it will be able to find other means of self-support for its survival. The objective of this work is to show that there is potential at band, namely the mobilization and the rational management of the human and economic resources available, the cost-effectiveness of the production facilities inherited from the missionaries, but resting on a favourable national sociopolitical and economic environment and a change in the attitude of the parties involved.