Nur Adiana Hiau Abdullah

Sustaining a quality management system: process, issues and challenges

Purpose – This paper aims to highlight the planning and implementation processes of a higher education institution ISO 9000 quality management system. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses the issues and challenges faced by the institution in the process of maintaining and going beyond the minimum requirements of a quality management system. Findings – The paper finds that senior leaders of an organization play an important role in driving the organization to quality improvement and organizational excellence. Practical implications – The paper suggests practical information for management of a higher education institution to maintain and sustain a quality management system. Originality/value – Maintaining a quality management system remains critical for an organization that has obtained certification. It has been observed that maintaining a quality management system is a far more daunting task than obtaining one.

Modelling small and medium-sized enterprises' failure in Malaysia

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are acknowledged as significant contributors to development and growth in the economy. Since failure among SMEs is common, this study intends to build an accurate model that could predict SME failure. An analysis on 132 companies in 2000 to 2010 shows that higher gearing and lower profitability are associated with higher failure risk. In addition, the incorporation of the companys age significantly improves the models predictive accuracy. Our result indicates that young SMEs rely heavily on debt, which leads them into distressed situations. To validate the predictive accuracy of the model, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is utilised, suggesting that the inclusion of the non-financial variable significantly improves the model. The overall prediction accuracy rate ranges from 75% to 89% for the model developed with non-financial variables when applied to the one-year, two-year, three-year and four-year prior-to-default holdout samples.

Lipper’s rating and the performance of unit trusts in Malaysia

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the risk-adjusted performance of rated funds and determine the usefulness of Lipper Leader rating of unit trusts in Malaysia during the period 2000 to 2010. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper utilizes the Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jensen’s alpha and Fama-French three-factor model to measure performance. Findings - – During the period of study, the performance of the market index and risk-free rate outperformed that of 68 equity unit trust funds in the 3-year, 5-year and 10-year investment horizons. The ranking, based on four performance measures, corresponds to Lipper rating for the lowest rated and leader funds, but not for the three- and four-key rated funds. Further, there is a significant difference in the performance of the five-key, four-key and three-key rated funds which outperform the lowest rated funds, indicating that Lipper rating is able to distinguish superior and inferior unit trust funds. Research limitations/implications - – Some of the limitations in this study are that the indexes could be self-constructed. The existing index might not represent the asset allocation of the funds concerned. Additional variables might have to be considered when examining fund performance as they should correspond to the characteristics of a fund. Practical implications - – The results indicate that Lipper rating classification could identify the highest and lowest performing funds. Therefore, investors could use this rating to make informed investment decisions without undertaking time-consuming analysis to ascertain the good- and bad-quality funds in the market. Social implications - – The findings of this study could be used by the academia as another source of reference to enhance their understanding of the applicability of Lipper rating for unit trust funds in an emerging market. Originality/value - – The contribution of this study is that it analyzes the effectiveness and capability of Lipper Leader rating in identifying quality funds in the context of an emerging market. Performance comparison between Lipper Leader rating and methods used in the portfolio theory bridges the theory-practice gap between practitioners and academics. To date, there have been no attempts to study and compare the ratings of advisory firms with theoretical performance measures, particularly in the context of Malaysia.

Modelling Small Business Failures in Malaysia

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are acknowledged as significant contributors to development and growth in the economy. Since failure among SMEs is common, this study intends to build a failure prediction model for SMEs in the manufacturing sector. By using 132 Malaysian SMEs during the period 2000 to 2010, the results show that higher gearing and lower profitability are associated with higher failure risk. Furthermore, the incorporation of firm’s age significantly improves the model’s predictive accuracy. Receiver Operating Characteristics curve demonstrates that the models possess better prediction ability than a random model. However, a model which includes financial and non-financial variables show superior performance. This model could detect failures as early as four years prior to the event. Overall, the accuracy rate that the model could correctly predict failures ranges from 75 percent to 89 percent.This model could be used as a refined tool to avoid possible adverse situations among the SMEs. A better credit decision making could take place that could potentially reduce non-performing loans.

Debt and firm value in Malaysia: A panel threshold regression analysis

There have been number of studies discussing the optimal level of capital structure since the seminal work of Modigliani and Miller (1958). In this study, we examine whether an optimal level of debt exist at which a firm could maximize its value. An advanced panel threshold regression model by Hansen (1999) is employed to test the effect of debt ratio on the firm value among Malaysian listed firms from 2005 to 2009. The findings from this study show that additional debt beyond the threshold level does not add to a firm value.

Shariah-compliant status and IPO oversubscriptions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Shariah-compliant status on oversubscription of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Malaysia. It is believed that the Shariah-compliant status serves as a platform that sends a credible signal to investors which could possibly explain the IPO oversubscription anomaly. Design/methodology/approach This study used a multivariate and quantile regression model which involved 252 IPOs listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2005 to 2015. Findings The results show a significant positive relationship between Shariah-compliant status and oversubscription ratio, which suggests that companies with Shariah status could draw the attention of the investors. Strict guidelines and permissible elements of Shariah-compliant are considered agreeable and amicable by the investors. Research limitations/implications Future studies should look into financial ratio benchmark (cash and debt) for determining Shariah-compliant status to enhance the understanding of oversubscription of IPOs in Malaysia. Practical implications This study offers practical understanding to the issuers and underwriters on the factors that should be considered in assuring a good early performance of their issuance. Therefore, it will benefit the issuers and underwriters in managing and planning the IPO process carefully. Social implications The results of this study provide a new insight for investors regarding important information found in the prospectus when making the decisions to subscribe to IPOs. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to provide an empirical evidence of the impact of Shariah-compliant status on oversubscription in the IPO market.

Market reactions to financial distress announcements: Do political connections matter?

Abstract We examined market reactions to the financial distress announcements of listed firms in Malaysia. We investigated whether the market differentiates between the politically connected and non-politically connected vis-a-vis the outcomes at the time of the announcements. There is evidence of differing reactions to announcements by politically connected and non-connected firms. Investors react more negatively to the non-politically connected firms as compared to the politically connected ones. In addition, in the event of emergence from financial distress, the losses of politically connected firms were lower than for the non-politically connected firms.

Announcement effects of dividend tax cuts and corporate policies: evidence from Malaysia REITs

Abstract This study examines the effect of dividend tax changes on the share prices and corporate policies of Malaysian REITs. Event study results show that dividend tax cut announcements provide positive abnormal returns. Based on cross-sectional regression, the abnormal returns are found to be larger for REITs with a higher retail ownership. The implementation of dividend tax cuts also increases dividend payout and reduce investment activities. These results partly support the traditional view of dividend taxation which posits that tax reform could affect economic efficiency and resource allocation in an economy.

Implications of dividend tax reforms on M-REITs performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of 19 Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (M-REITs) over the period 1999 to 2014, following the implementation of dividend tax reforms announced in the 2007, 2009 and 2012 budgets. Design/methodology/approach Sharpe index, Treynor index and Jensen α are utilized to compare the performance of M-REITs against a newly developed tax-adjusted value-weighted M-REITs index, equity market, property sector and three month Malaysia Treasury Bills (T-Bills). The calculation of M-REITs returns has been adjusted to take into account the dividend tax reforms which have never been considered in previous studies. Findings Most M-REITs outperform the tax-adjusted value-weighted REITs index, equity market, property sector and three month T-Bills. Property sector performs worst during those periods. Some of the M-REITs have a higher standard deviation than the equity market and the tax-adjusted value-weighted M-REITs index. Most M-REITs have a lower total risk than the property sector. Further analysis shows that before (after) the tax reforms, most M-REITs underperform (outperform) the other sectors. The introduction of the tax reforms benefits both REITs and investors. A significant positive Jensen α for some M-REITs indicates that fund managers are able to time the market or to select undervalued assets. Practical implications Findings of the study would enable investors to evaluate the performance of all REITs in comparison to other financial assets during the period of study for better investment decision making. A more accurate assessment on REITs performance that take into account the tax reforms, is available for investors and fund managers to decide on the investment mix to be included in their portfolio. Moreover, fund managers’ performance can be assessed whether they perform better or worse than the equity market, property sector and three month T-Bills. Originality/value This study contributes to the scant literature on dividend tax reforms and their implication toward REITs performance. It is the first study to thoroughly assess the returns of REITs by taking into account the changes on dividend tax rates announced in the 2007, 2009 and 2012 budgets.