Implications of Fama-French Models and Critical Evaluation of Cost of Equity Approach in Explanation of Variations in Expected Stock Returns

CAPM theory that solves relationship between asset return and asset risk for potential investment project by CML and SML,is illustrated in the first section as an introduction of further analysis of corporate valuation techniques.Fama and French three factor model is perceived as a revision of CAPM,although it stills has severe weaknesses.CAPM theory solves relationship between asset return and asset risk for potential investment project by CML and SML.

Analysis of the Effect of Corporate Governance Attributes and Disclosure Level on Firms＇ Costs of Financing

The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of corporate governance and disclosure policy on corporate financial performance by examining the combined effect of board characteristics and disclosure level on financing costs. The empirical analysis, conducted on a sample of 192 Canadian companies, generally shows the importance of board characteristics in determining the level of disclosure and firms＇ costs of financing. In particular, the results found indicate that boards whose characteristics meet the governance requirements that are associated with greater transparency in disclosure on governance attributes reduce the costs of financing of their companies by debt as well as by equity capital.

Religious atmosphere and the cost of equity capital:Evidence from China

The cost of equity capital(ICC)is a crucial component of investment decisions and corporate performance evaluations.This study explores the effect of a region’s religious atmosphere on ICC and finds that ICC tends to be lower when stronger religious atmosphere is created.We further use the mediation effect method to clarify the specific channel through which religious atmosphere reduces ICC,and find that earnings quality,corporate investment efficiency and corporate social responsibility partially mediate the effect of religious atmosphere on ICC.Moreover,the relationship between religious atmosphere and ICC is more pronounced in firms with stronger external law environments and higher audit quality,indicating that formal institutions and religious tradition complement each other.

Firm internationalization and cost of equity:Evidence from China

This paper examines the relationship between firm internationalization and cost of equity.We find that firms with a higher degree of international operations have a significantly lower cost of equity,which is more pronounced for firms in provinces with a weak institutional environment or firms experiencing intense domestic competition.Our results are robust after adopting a firm fixed effect model,propensity score matching,difference-in-difference regressions and alternative measurements of key variables.Further,international operations help firms to break through their institutional constraints in the domestic market,which reduces the cost of equity and improves resource allocation efficiency in the capital market.Our paper enriches the literature on firm internationalization and the cost of equity from the perspective of emerging markets.

Determinants and features of voluntary disclosure in the Chinese stock market

This paper offers in-depth analysis of the determinants and features of voluntary disclosure based on information in the annual reports of 1066 Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. This extensive sample represents about 80% of all public companies in China. Our findings suggest that voluntary disclosure in China is positively related to firm size,leverage, assets-in-place, and return on equity and is negatively related to auditor type and the level of maturity or sophistication of the intermediary and legal environments. We also find some evidence to suggest a quadratic convex association between state ownership and voluntary disclosure. However, our analysis provides no evidence that extensive disclosure benefits public companies in China in the form of a lower cost of equity.

Voluntary Disclosure of Auditors＇ Report on Internal Control： Firm Characteristics and Economic Consequences

Using propensity score matching （PSM） and the difference-in- difference （DID） approach, this paper explores the characteristics of listed Chinese firms that voluntarily disclose auditors＇ reports on internal control and the economic consequences. Using a sample of non-financial firms listed on the main boards of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange between 2006 and 2010, we find that firms are more likely to voluntarily disclose their auditors＇ reports on internal control if they have higher state ownership, lower managerial ownership, sanction records, audit committees, non-Big Four auditors as their auditors of annual financial reports, unqualified auditors＇ opinions on financial reports, less board independence, after controlling for firm size, liabilities, performance, and history. Moreover, as compared to a control group that exhibits similar characteristics, firms that voluntarily disclose auditors＇ reports on internal control are associated with positive earnings quality and negative cost of equity capital.