Hamish D. Anderson

Stock Dividend Announcement Effects in an Imputation Tax Environment

A key question in asset pricing is the extent to which tax effects are passed through market prices or are capitalised in them. New Zealand stock dividends provide a useful window into this debate because of (1) the existence of both taxable and non-taxable stock dividends, and (2) the particular form of imputation tax system which allows the full pass through of corporate taxes to the investor on the proportion of profits which are distributed either as cash or taxable stock dividends. We present evidence that investors value future tax benefits associated with imputation tax credits. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.

Block Trade Price Asymmetry and Changes in Depth: Evidence from the Australian Stock Exchange

This paper examines the price response to large block transactions on the Australian Stock Exchange during the 1999 sample period. We find asymmetry in the price reaction between buyer- and seller-initiated trades with respect to size and resiliency following the trade. We extend previous research by examining order book changes surrounding block trades and relating price effects to changes in book depth. Purchases are associated with persistent order book imbalance, while the sales imbalance is insignificant. Cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that price resiliency following a trade is related to the speed at which limit orders arrive to replenish book depth.

The announcement and implementation reaction to China's margin trading and short selling pilot programme

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the announcement and implementation of short sales and margin trading regulation affects Chinese stock returns and trading volume. On 31 March 2010, the Chinese regulators launched a pilot programme, allowing short sales and margin trading for 50 Shanghai Stock Exchange and 40 Shenzhen Stock Exchange stocks. Design/methodology/approach - – This paper uses an event study approach to compare market model abnormal returns (ARs) of the pilot firms with two distinct matched firm samples. A volume event study is also conducted to examine abnormal trading activity surrounding the key events in the pilot stocks. Findings - – Negative ARs follow both the announcement and implementation of short selling and margin trading. This suggests the negative impact of short sales dominates the positive impact of margin trading on an average. Volume also declines, which is consistent with uninformed investors’ seeking to avoid trading against informed traders. Originality/value - – The paper appears to be the first to address the impact of both the announcement and implementation of short selling and margin trading rule changes on returns and liquidity using individual stock data.

Discounted Private Placements in New Zealand: Exploitation or Fair Compensation?

Market commentators have suggested that New Zealands lax private placement and disclosure regulation allows private placement purchasers to immediately sell discounted shares without disclosing these transactions to the market. However, New Zealand firms with the deepest discounts tend to have higher risks, lower returns and higher costs associated with evaluating firm value. Therefore, the possibility that deep discounts may simply represent adequate compensation for the extra risk and cost private placement purchasers incur cannot be ruled out. In this respect private placement purchasers in New Zealand take on the role and risks associated with investment banker and underwriter.

International stock market liquidity: a review

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on liquidity in international stock markets, highlights differences and similarities in empirical results across existing studies, and identifies areas requiring further research. Design/methodology/approach - – International cross-country studies on stock market liquidity are categorized and reviewed. Important relevant single-country studies are also discussed. Findings - – Market liquidity is influenced by exchange characteristics (e.g. the presence of market makers) and regulations (e.g. short-sales constraints). The literature has identified the most appropriate liquidity measures for global research, and for emerging and frontier markets, respectively. Major empirical facts are as follows. Liquidity co-varies within and across countries. Both the liquidity level and liquidity uncertainty are priced internationally. Liquidity is positively associated with firm transparency and share issuance, and negatively related to dividends paid out. The impact of internationalization on liquidity is not universal across firms and countries. Some suggested areas for future studies include: dark pools, high-frequency trading, commonality in liquidity premium, funding liquidity, liquidity and capital structure, and liquidity and transparency. Research limitations/implications - – The paper focusses on international stock markets and does not consider liquidity in international bond or foreign exchange markets. Originality/value - – This paper provides a comprehensive survey of empirical studies on liquidity in international developed and emerging stock markets.

IPO Performance on China’s Newest Stock Market (ChiNext)

We study IPO underpricing and long-run performance of ChiNext, a newly-established Growth Enterprise Board in China. Using a sample of 281 ChiNext IPOs during October 2009–December 2011, we find the initial average market adjusted abnormal return (MAAR) is 33.5 percent. The average 12-month buy-and-hold abnormal return (BHAR) is −45.7 percent for those IPOs listed prior to 2011. Although the average MAARs of ChiNext is significantly higher than IPOs listed on the Main Board, it is not significantly different from the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Board IPOs during the sample period. However, the ChiNext average BHARs are significantly lower than those on both the SME and Main Boards. Regression findings support the information asymmetry hypothesis (high uncertainty of ChiNext IPOs) and the behavioral theory (market sentiment) on underpricing for ChiNext IPOs, and we find that ChiNext IPO underperformances are consistent with the significant deterioration of their operating performance after listing and investors’ speculative trading behavior on these new issues.

Venture Capital Performance in China

This study investigates the determinants of venture capital (VC) performance in China. We focus on the impact of VC reputation, political connections, and managing partner/founder’s experience on the performance of domestic and foreign VC investments. After controlling for VC age, portfolio firm age, syndicate size, VC industry competition, and a number of other factors, we find little correlation between VC reputation and investment performance in the Chinese market. In contrast, we find that the institutional characteristics such as political connections of VC firms and managing partner/founder’s prior experience as managers and investment bankers are crucial to domestic VC success, but these have little impact on foreign VC performance. In particular, if a domestic VC firm is politically connected, or a managing partner/founder has more management experience or has previously worked as an investment banker, a portfolio firm is more likely to have an IPO exit through the Chinese mainland stock markets, and these VCs are also likely to speed up a portfolio firm’s exit through IPOs in China.

Partial Adjustment Towards Target Capital Structure: Evidence from New Zealand

We investigate whether industry differences influence how quickly New Zealand firms adjust towards target debt ratios between 1984 and 2009. We employ two-step and integrated partial adjustment models, and use measures of both book and market leverage. Our first significant finding is that different industries adjust towards target debt ratios at different speeds. For eight out of 15 industries there is evidence of an inverse relationship between levels of debt and speed of adjustment. We speculate that industry risk may be an underlying factor determining adjustment speed. Our second significant finding is that financial deficits influence the speed at which firms adjust towards a target debt ratio in particular industries. In seven industries, firms that do not have deficits adjust more quickly towards a target debt ratio than firms that do have deficits. In four industries, firms that do have deficits adjust more quickly.

From cents to half-cents and its liquidity impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact on stock liquidity following the reduction of minimum tick size from

The Permanent Portfolio

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