Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-29T11:13:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_5939_DISSERTAÇÃO ANDRÉ PDF.pdf: 407189 bytes, checksum: e580bbf58204551d793e1ff9c700bf9e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-22 / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar a influência do PE/VC sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis das empresas listadas na BM&FBovespa. Considerou-se informatividade a intensidade da relação entre o lucro contábil e o retorno das ações, apurada pelo coeficiente angular da reta estimada entre as variáveis PEVC e Lucro Líquido Ajustado (LLA). Adicionalmente, a pesquisa abordou a Influência do efeito conjunto PE/VC e governança sobre a informatividade dos lucros contábeis. Espera-se com esta pesquisa contribuir com a ampliação do conhecimento sobre o papel da contabilidade no mercado de capitais. A amostra foi composta por 1.177 observações de empresas não-financeiras listadas na BM&FBovespa no período de 2004 a 2011. O resultado apurado confirma hipótese de que a informatividade dos lucros contábeis é positivamente relacionada com a existência de PE/VC.

Abstract I apply survival analysis to model the factors that influence venture capital (VC) investment duration. Specifically, I fit a parametric survival model to plot the probability of venture capital exit over time. Given a small number of initial public offering (IPO) exits in the collected sample, the analysis focuses exclusively on exits through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). I fit a Cox proportional hazards model and a parametric model under the generalized Gamma distribution with financing, entrepreneurial firm, and VC firm characteristics. For the first time in the VC investment duration literature, I investigate the time to exit with data of Asian entrepreneurial firms and VC firms. The empirical analysis first draws comparisons between Asian, European, and North American venture capital, and then focuses the analysis to North America. I find that venture capital investments in North America are most likely to exit through M&A, followed by European VC investments and then by Asian VC investments. The region of the VC firm has no effect on the likelihood of an M&A exit.

"A one dimensional, multiple reaction pathway model of the dechlorination reactions of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) as these species pass through a zero valent iron permeable reactive barrier (PRB) was produced. Three different types of rate equations were tested; first order, surface controlled with interspecies competition, and surface controlled with inter and intra species competition. The first order rate equations predicted the most accurate results when compared to actual data from permeable reactive barriers. Sensitivity analysis shows that the most important variable in determining TCE concentration in the barrier is the first order rate constant for the degradation of TCE. The velocity of the water through the barrier is the second most important variable determining TCE concentration. For PCE the concentration in the barrier is most sensitive to the velocity of the water and to the first order degradation rate constant for the PCE to dichloroacetylene reaction. Overall, zero valent iron barriers are more effective for the treatment of TCE than PCE. "

Given a limited number of samples for classification, several issues arise with respect to design, performance and analysis of classifiers. This is especially so in the case of microarray-based classification. In this paper, we use a complexity measure based mixture model to study classifier performance for small sample problems. The motivation behind such a study is to determine the conditions under which a certain class of classifiers is suitable for classification, subject to the constraint of a limited number of samples being available. Classifier study in terms of the VC dimension of a learning machine is also discussed.

Copula functions represent a methodology which can describe the dependence structure of multi-dimension random variable, and has recently become the most significant new tool to handle risk factors in finance such as Value-at Risk( VaR) which was probably the most widely used risk measure in financial institutions. In this paper, Copula and the forecast function of Garch model are well combined, and a new method Conditional-Copula-Garch is built for measure the dependence of financial data and compute the VaR of portfolios. Copula-Garch models allow for very flexible joint distribution by splitting the marginal behaviors form the dependence relation unlike the traditional approaches for the estimation VaR, such as variance-covariance, and the Monte Carlo approaches whereas demand the joint distribution to be known. This work presents an application of the Copula-Garch model in the estimation of VaR of a portfolio composed by NASDAQ and TAIEX (Taiwan stock exchanged capitalization weighted index) stock indices.

Current world economy is impacted by the new and the old economy systems primarily due to high-tech software and hardware products that are constantly emerging to the market place. It has brought many innovations and high efficiencies to people¡¦s daily lives, e.g., the food, clothing, housing and transportation, etc. The influence of this evolution is potentially enormous and such evolution inspires people¡¦s confidence in the current Electronic Age. By reviewing the world¡¦s current economy, it appears that winner¡¦s economy system must rely on both the new and the old economy industries positively. In other words, the new economy has to be established on the foundation of stable traditional industries, and the old economy system must be improved and advanced with the help of the new technology. The basic reason is that the necessities of people¡¦s life are mostly supplied by the traditional industries from the old economy. As an island nation under the trend of the world¡¦s economy, Taiwan¡¦s new and old economy systems are required to be balanced in such a way that mutually one benefits the other. Because of this concern, the new government proposed a ¡§Green Silicon-Island Economical Development Project¡¨, and aggressively launched a ¡§Boosting Traditional Industry Plan¡¨ as well. By cultivating the traditional industries, the new economic technology can prosper accordingly. At this opportunistic juncture, Company A formulated a 5-year business plan to venture into a traditional industry: manufacturing of friction materials. The goal is to raise 4 million USD for starting up a production facility to manufacture and market a wide range of friction materials, in an effort to respond to the Government¡¦s call of boosting traditional industries. The main focuses of the proposed business are to build a solid manufacturing foundation on Taiwan, to market the products to the entire world, and to thrive the business to excellence with technology-based operation and management. The variety of friction materials is overwhelming. In terms of material composition, friction materials can be classified into the following four types: semi-metallic, sintered metallic, paper-based, and carbon fiber-based materials. This proposal explores key issues that are essential to the success of the production of all four types of friction materials. These key issues include: industry infrastructure, market size analysis, marketing strategies, operation networking, risk analysis, and core technical strength. Based on the above analysis, a 5-year financial planning is presented. Detailed analysis for the financial objectives on financial feasibility, cash flow, break-even point, and investment interests are also included. ¡K¡K¡K¡K¡K

Given a limited number of samples for classification, several issues arise with respect to design, performance and analysis of classifiers. This is especially so in the case of microarray-based classification. In this paper, we use a complexity measure based mixture model to study classifier performance for small sample problems. The motivation behind such a study is to determine the conditions under which a certain class of classifiers is suitable for classification, subject to the constraint of a limited number of samples being available. Classifier study in terms of the VC dimension of a learning machine is also discussed.

Background: Sustainability has become an increasingly important and current topic, where sustainable investments have increased tenfold in the last decade. PE accounts for an extensive amount of capital for Swedish companies, giving them great opportunities to impact the sustainable development of the Swedish economy. Aim: The aim of the study is to analyze the extent to which PE-firms are incorporating sustainability as part of their business, how they have been affected by the heightened awareness surrounding sustainable development and if they believe that it can create value in their portfolio companies. Method: In order to attain the aim of the study, a qualitative method was used. Semi-structured interviews were held with seven PE-firms and one interest association representing Sweden’s PE-sector. Conclusion: The results indicate that PE-firms specializing in LBO-investments, generally, incorporate sustainability as part of their business to a greater extent than VC-firms. Moreover, sustainability is almost exclusively considered in the pre-investment phase, also known as the screening-phase. The value retrieved from sustainable activities does not seem to have a direct connection to a monetary reward and should therefore rather be considered in terms of becoming more attractive as an employer and in the face of investors. / Bakgrund: Hållbar utveckling blir ett allt mer viktigt och aktuellt fenomen för företag att arbeta med, där hållbara investeringar har ökat tiofaldigt det senaste årtiondet. PE står för en omfattande del av finansieringen av företag i det svenska näringslivet, vilket innebär att de har stora möjligheter att påverka hållbarhetsarbetet i den svenska ekonomin. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka och analysera i vilken utsträckning PE-bolag arbetar med hållbarhetsfrågor, hur de påverkats av en ökad medvetenhet kring hållbar utveckling samt om PE-bolagen upplever att det kan skapa värde i portföljbolagen. Metod: För att uppnå studiens syfte har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt använts, där empirin erhållits genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju PE-bolag samt en intresseorganisation för PE. Slutsats: Resultaten tyder på att PE-bolag inriktade på LBO-investeringar, generellt sett, arbetar mer med hållbarhet än VC-bolag. Det går även att se att PE-bolagen främst arbetar med hållbarhet inför en investering, i screeningfasen. Det värde som fås av hållbarhet verkar inte direkt kunna spegla ett monetärt värde utan verkar snarare ge andra mjukare värden såsom att bolagen blir attraktivare både som arbetsgivare och för investerare.

Foreign investors are making larger investments in the Canadian venture capital (VC) market than Canadian investors, and Canadian VC exits are primarily M&As (Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, various years). This research provides a joint exploration of foreign venture capitalists’ (VCs) participation in Canada and outcomes of VC exits. Using binary logistic regression and multivariate linear regression, this paper reports that the presence of foreign VCs in the Canadian market is accompanied with mixed exit-related outcomes. On the one hand, foreign VCs’ participation is associated with higher likelihood of a successful exit through initial public offering (IPO), greater capital availability, and shorter time to exit. On the other hand, the relation between foreign VCs’ participation and lower purchaser price per dollar of VC investment in exit through merger and acquisition (M&A) raises concerns about the monetary returns to Canadian investee firms and Canadian syndicate VCs. These empirical findings will help to facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of the Canadian VC market, as well as adding to the growing body of literature on cross- border VC investment.

Eskom provides 98% of South Africa’s ever increasing electricity demand. The mining sector is a vital contributor to the economy, but also consumes vast amounts of electricity. This sector is responsible for almost 15% of the country’s electricity usage. Mines heavily depend on the supply of cold water and air. Refrigeration systems are therefore constantly operational and can account for 25% of a mine’s electricity costs. The need therefore exists to investigate possible energy savings initiatives. Refrigeration systems are typically used to lower the temperature of water and air. Bulk Air Coolers (BACs) are used to produce cold air. The aim of this study is to investigate possible electricity cost savings in a mine refrigeration system. This can be achieved by enabling equipment to dynamically adapt to changes in their environment. Electricity usage reduction has the greatest financial impact if it occurs during Eskom peak periods. Time-dependent schedules of operation are therefore used to achieve this objective. Due to the lack of such a controller in the mining industry, the focus of this study is a BAC control system. A BAC controller would be able to follow guidelines that could lead to electricity cost savings. It was therefore developed and incorporated in the Real-time Energy Management System (REMS). The BAC controller combines various inputs and constraints to determine the output. An electricity usage reduction during the Eskom evening peak period was consequently achieved. The BAC controller was implemented on three sites. Electrical energy usage during the evening peak period was reduced via the load shifting method. This aids Eskom in their effort to reduce the peak period demand. Air temperature and dam levels were closely monitored during the peak period. If any preset condition was violated, the load shifting was abandoned for that day. It was shown that a total power reduction of 7 MW is possible between the three sites. The electricity savings occurred in the evening peak period. A calculation was made to determine the possible annual savings by using the achieved daily cost savings. The winter months were not included in the calculation. An annual cost saving of R1 166 694.41 is therefore possible without having to reduce output quantities. / MIng(Computer and Electronic Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015