A LASSO-based model for financial distress of the Vietnamese listed firms: Does the covid-19 pandemic matter?

Financial distress is a vexing managerial challenge for businesses worldwide, especially during a turbulent period like the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivated by an increasing number of closed businesses in Vietnam during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, this study is conducted to provide a comprehensive analysis of financial distress for Vietnamese listed firms. Machine learning approaches are employed using the annual data of 492 listed firms from 2012 to 2021. Specifically, we aim to identify the appropriate distress predictors for the Vietnamese listed firms using LASSO, a technique known to be superior compared to other variable selection techniques. Empirical results reveal that there are four key financial distress predictors for the Vietnamese listed firms, namely the ratios of (i) working capital and total assets, (ii) retained earnings and total assets, (iii) earnings before interest and taxes and total assets and (iv) net income and total assets. We also conducted an industry-level analysis and found that the Energy sector experienced the highest number of financially distressed firms during Covid-19. In contrast, Communication Services, Health Care, and Utilities had the lowest number of distressed firms. Policy implications have emerged based on these important findings from our analysis.

Financial performance of China's listed firms in presence of coronavirus: Evidence from corporate culture and corporate social responsibility.

Motivated from the shortage of the existing research studies on impacts of dangerously contagious diseases on firms' financial performance, this study sheds light on the impacts of Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak on financial performance upon on the quarterly data of 126 Chinese listed firms across 16 industries. Overall, the Covid-19 outbreak reduced Chinese listed firms' financial performance proxied by the revenue growth rate, ROA, ROE, and asset turnover. This outbreak's negative effects on Chinese firms' profitability were much smaller than that on their revenue growth rates. While this outbreak's negative effects on financial performance of Chinese listed firms were bigger for those that were seriously affected by this pandemic like airlines, travel, and entertainment (ATE), this pandemic's effects were positive for the medicine industry. In the meanwhile, Chinese listed firms that located in high-risk regions suffered a bigger financial loss during the outbreak, and especially there was a strong Hubei effect. The corporate culture and CSR moderated the inverse relationship between this outbreak and Chinese firms' financial performance. Findings of this study contribute to enrich the existing literature on impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak on firms' financial performance worldwide and suggest helpful practical and theoretical implications.

INFLUENCE OF BANK LOANS ON LISTED COMPANY PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

This research investigates the influence of bank loans on Chinese listed companies' performance by collecting data on bank loan amounts and indicators used to measure performance, such as return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q, semiannually from 2015 to 2020. Pooling panel regression models are employed to determine the relationship between firms' performance and their amount of bank loans. This study contributes to the literature by controlling for additional bank loan characteristics and comparing the relevance between bank loans and bond issuance. The authors also find that the relationship between firm performance and bank loans shows a nonlinear concave relationship, suggesting the negative impact is more severe in the high loan-to-asset region. The subsample after 2018 shows a significantly positive relationship, indicating that the impact of COVID-19 might alter the prevalent relationship. In addition, short-term debt has a more noticeable negative impact on firm performance than long-term debt. Both results become weaker after COVID-19. This chapter can help listed companies to trade off using long-term or short-term bank loans as their debt financing methods and approach a better capital structure. © 2023 by Emerald Publishing Limited.

The impact of COVID-19 on company performance per industry sector: Evidence from South Africa

Orientation: Governments across the world have adopted a variety of preventative measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The full socioeconomic costs present a significant threat to economic growth, with developing economies such as South Africa predicted to be the worst affected. Research purpose: This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on company performance based on the various industry sectors of the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) of South Africa. Motivation for the study: The study builds on the growing body of knowledge on the impact of COVID-19 on company performance in a South African context. Research approach and method: All JSE-listed companies were analysed for the period 2014–2020. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were applied to assess the impact of COVID-19 on company performance per industry sector and to identify the mechanisms through which company performance was affected during the pandemic year. Main findings: Company performance per JSE industry sector suffered a significant negative impact during the 2020 pandemic year. Sectors were affected differently owing to the idiosyncratic nature of each industry. Cash-flow-related variables significantly affected company performance during the pandemic year. Practical implications: A healthy cash flow is paramount in times of crisis. Investors and other stakeholders should be cognisant of how industry sector idiosyncrasies affect company performance during crises. Contribution: Results may provide insights into the effect of COVID-19 on company performance per industry sector in South Africa, to support the mitigation of the negative consequences of COVID-19 and future crises or pandemics.

Research on the Spatiotemporal Evolution of China's Intercity Network Structure from the Perspective of the Relationship between Listed Companies and Customers

The connection between enterprises is an important part of urban connection. Strengthening the analysis of urban functional network based on the connection between enterprises is of great significance to enrich the theoretical research of urban network. Based on the trade relationship data between listed companies and their top five customers from 2010 to 2020, this paper constructs China's urban network, and analyzes the spatio- temporal evolution characteristics of urban network based on the perspective of trade links between enterprises. The research shows that: ① From 2010 to 2020, the urban network scale shows the characteristics of first rising and then falling, and the overall network density is low, ranging from 0.014 to 0.018. The center of gravity of the network presents the trend of "S" - shaped spatial trajectory change and overall southward movement.This feature is consistent with the trend of China's economic center moving southward in recent years. The overall spatial structure of the network changes from coastal to "T" - shaped structure. This feature is consistent with the "T" strategy of China's land development. ② The network traffic is concentrated in a few node cities. The total amount of capital in and out of the top 20 cities accounts for 71.9% of the total capital flow. Beijing and Shanghai are the absolute core of the network. The provincial capitals or sub provincial cities such as Hangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen and Guangzhou assume the function of regional centers. Foshan, Qiqihar, Nantong and other manufacturing developed cities are important nodes. It indicates that trade links are more likely to occur in cities with high administrative levels or developed industries. ③ The Pearl River Delta has the highest network density, which is between 0.324 and 0.334. The Yangtze River Delta has the highest total trade flow, which is 78.35 billion yuan. Although the networking level of urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration is relatively low, they have become an important force to promote the evolution of network structure. ④ The COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the trade flow and network structure of the overall network. The network associations have been further divided and reorganized. The Guangzhou Shenzhen associations have been significantly strengthened. It shows that Guangzhou and Shenzhen have a strong combination effect. The Shanghai associations have been significantly weakened. The research results have a certain reference value for promoting the construction of domestic big cycle and unified big market. © 2023 Journal of Geo-Information Science. All rights reserved.

The moderating role of COVID-19 pandemic on the relationship between CEO characteristics and earnings management: evidence from Bangladesh

This research uses accrual and real earnings management strategies in an emerging economy to evaluate how CEO characteristics (i.e. CEO nationality, duality, and compensation) affect earnings management and how the COVID-19 pandemic modifies this connection. The empirical investigation used annual reports from 2011 to 2021 of 118 listed enterprises in thirteen sectors of non-financial organizations in Bangladesh. The study divided the sample further into COVID-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic periods. Findings show that firms tend to engage less in real earnings management during the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to pre-pandemic period. CEO nationality significantly negatively affects accrual-earnings management, but CEO dualism positively affects real-earnings management. CEO compensation significantly impacts accrual and real earnings management. Finally, COVID-19 moderates the association between CEO compensation and real-earnings management positively. The study's findings contribute to the corporate governance literature by providing insights into the influence of CEO characteristics on earnings management. This is the first study to consider the moderating role of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationship between CEO traits and earnings management. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

The effect of corporate governance elements on corporate social responsibility reporting of listed companies in Vietnam

This paper examines the impact of various corporate governance characteristics on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information in the context of developing markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used data from the annual reports of the top 100 companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange from 2019 to 2021 to investigate the relationship between board independence, board size, CEO duality, foreign ownership, government ownership, and the disclosure level of CSR reporting. We employed a content analysis to measure CSR disclosure level by using the CSR reporting index (CSRRI) with 17 items. The panel regressions including three techniques like the pooled-ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects model (FEM), and random effects model (REM), were used to analyze the data, and FEM) shows its best fit to the model. The results suggest that board independence and government ownership correlate positively and significantly with companies' decisions to disclose CSR information. In contrast, board size, CEO duality, foreign ownership and was found to be insignificant. Our study extends the literature on CSR particularly in developing countries where governments play a significant role in promoting economic development. It also evaluates the CSR disclosure level of the top listed companies in Vietnam. Since then, the paper's results provide several insights to the policymakers to identify the corporate governance characteristics that will promote CSR reporting in Vietnam's listed companies.

The increasing importance of the alternate real estate sectors for institutional investors

The alternate real estate sectors (including healthcare, data centres, self-storage, university student accommodation and infrastructure) have taken on increased importance in recent years with institutional investors, as they have sought to broaden their real estate sector exposure. This has been driven by key real estate investment factors, including the changing global demographics, advances in technology and the impact of COVID-19. Importantly, this trend is expected to continue and has a major influence on real estate management and strategies by institutional investors going forward. Using a range of alternate real estate sectors across several countries (US, UK and globally) in the direct, non-listed and listed real estate spaces, this paper examines the risk-adjusted performance and portfolio diversification benefits of these alternate real estate sectors compared to the standard asset classes in the portfolios of institutional investors. The real estate management and strategic implications for institutional investors going forward are also assessed.

Impact of COVID-19 on the 2020 Financial Results of Selected Philippine Publicly-Listed Companies

This paper evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 financial results of selected Philippine Publicly-Listed Companies (PLCs) in the Philippine Stock Exchange.. Using ratio analysis to determine the consequences of this infectious disease affecting PLCs, results show a decline in the percent-change in revenue, expenses, and net income from the average figures for 2017 to 2019 to corresponding figures for 2020. Content analysis revealed that most Philippine PLCs disclosed high and medium details as to the impact of COVID-19. Furthermore, the study’s results demonstrated that most PLCs provided qualitative or quantitative details about the respective measures taken against COVID-19. © 2022 by De La Salle University.

Financial Factors influencing environmental, social and governance ratings of public listed companies in Bursa Malaysia

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings are widely recognised methods to assess the sustainability practices of corporations. However, the scores of these ratings are not satisfactory in emerging market economies. This study examines the financial factors that influence ESG ratings regarding public listed companies on the FTSE4 Good Bursa Malaysia Index (F4GBM Index). This paper uses static and dynamic Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) techniques to analyse the data of 31 public listed companies on the F4GBM Index and reported full ESG ratings data for the period 2007-2016. To utilise the maximum number of observations by avoiding the missing data and outlier due to COVID-19, this study applied the sample data up to 2016. Using the two-step system dynamic GMM estimator, such results indicate that highly profitable Malaysian companies enjoy a higher score for ESG overall ratings as well as all three individual ratings. Poorer credit management diminishes the environmental ratings, yet increases overall scores such as the social and governance scores. Companies with higher leverage have a weaker social, governance and overall score, but a higher environmental rating. Finally, companies eliciting a higher sustainable growth rate have weak governance and overall scores. This study provides empirical evidence that will be useful to capital market investors, management teams of these companies and policymakers in their efforts to promote responsible investment in Malaysian public listed companies in line with UN-PRI policy.

EVALUATING THE EFFICIENCY OF JORDANIAN COMMERCIAL BANKS BEFORE AND DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The current research aims to investigate the financial management of Jordanian listed banks during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial management efficiency of Jordanian banks during the pandemic. In addition, this research is based on a quantitative research approach as it incorporates financial management factors, including liquidity management, return on equity, return on assets, and financial performance, for identifying the efficiency of Jordanian banks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis shows the financial indicators of banks listed on the Amman stock exchange. It has been found that the pandemic has affected the financial performance of these banks. On one side, although the total asset (size) of the banking sector is found to be increased on the other side, the debt ratio has also been increased, and it has created a significant negative impact on the financial performance. Hence, the findings indicate that the Jordanian government and the central bank of Jordan are still required to work on enhancing the financial performance of the financial sector in Jordan, as well as they should work on eliminating the impact of COVID-19 on the financial sector. Moreover, the reforms introduced by the Central bank of Jordan have a significant role in having this efficiency by the listed banks. This paper has highlighted that Jordan has a strong banking system that can cope with such uncertain situations due to its efficient financial management practices. The Jordanian government should further enhance the capabilities of the Jordanian banking sector through effective reforms to further contribute to the country's economic development. © 2022 Science Press. All rights reserved.

Pre-submission facility correspondence for generic dosage form with an expedited-approval in 8 months

PFC (Pre-Submission Facility Correspondence) is the initial submission for an ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application), comprising information for the application similar to the original ANDA, and only valid in the United States Agency For a pre-determined inspection of the finished drug product's facility information. The Applicant can be introducing their Drug Product into the Market before the ANDA's Goal date of 8 months, according to the Pre-Submission Facility Correspondence. The submission type Original ANDA, PAS (Prior approval supplement), and PAS Amendment is based on prior review goal submission. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approves PFC submission for a range of reasons, including drug product shortfalls, COVID-19 emergency dosage medication, Patent paragraph-IV (patent is invalid or will not be infringed), and market-availability of one RLD (Reference listed drug) and one generic. The complete submission process gone through the eCTD submission format from the ESG (Electronic Submission Gateway). © 2022 by the Author(s).

Textual analysis of the annual report and corporate performance: evidence from China

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the relationship between the readability of annual reports and corporate performance in Chinese listed firms. Design/methodology/approach: This research examined the annual report readability factors of Chinese listed companies by using a textual analysis method using Python to extract the text from the annual reports, convert it into numerical form to facilitate statistical analysis and then merge the results with data from the Chinese stock market to explain the impact on corporate performance and predict future earnings in the Chinese financial markets from 2008 to 2021. Findings: Study findings indicate that firms with better financial reporting readability are more profitable, incur lower agency costs and have low earnings in the Chinese stock markets when readability is low (i.e. more complexity and length of annual reports). It was also found that when a listed company has a good performance, it prefers to use a short space to explain its operating and financial status. More generally, the means of the report length are short, and accounting terms are used less frequently;in the case of a poor company, the annual report is particularly long and accounting terms are more frequently used. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, this study served as a proxy measure of returns prior to the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, an instrumental variable approach is used, which helps results to remain robust and control for fixed effects and potential endogeneity problems. Research limitations/implications: Although this study’s results cannot be generalised globally because of their limited scope, they can still be generalised across non-English speaking countries. Thus, future cross-country research is encouraged to examine the textual analysis of financial reports across those countries. Practical implications: This study conveys two messages to investors and policymakers within the Chinese market. First, investors ought to pay greater attention to the nonfinancial information contained in annual reports to improve the accuracy of their predictions regarding future firm performance. Second, Chinese policymakers are encouraged to instate a policy for the use of plain English in annual reports to make them more readable by international investors. Originality/value: This study contributes to the paucity of research that examines English-written annual reports in non-English speaking countries by examining the readability of annual reports in the Chinese market. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The Impact of the Code of Professional Conduct for Internal Auditors on the Effectiveness of Internal Auditing Units in Banks Listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange During COVID-19 Pandemic

The study aimed to identify the impact of the Code of Professional Conduct for Internal Auditors on the effectiveness of internal auditing units in banks listed on the Palestine Stock Exchange during the COVID-19 pandemic, The sample of the study consisted of 50 employees from the internal audit department employees in the banks listed in the Palestine Stock Exchange, randomly selected, and a descriptive approach has been implemented to achieve the study’s objectives. In addition, a questionnaire was designed to fit the purpose of the study, and after implementation and data analysis, the results indicated that there is a high impact of the attributes (integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, and competency) on the effectiveness of internal auditing units. According to a mean of 4.07 and an overall standard deviation of 0.41, Consequently, the study recommended that it is necessary to strengthen the ethical environment and its principles in the work of internal audit units in banks because of their great impact on achieving goals during crises, especially at the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Ambidextrous Leadership of Publicly Listed Companies during Turbulent Ti mes: The Importance of Agi li ty and Alli ance Capabi li ty

Purpose: The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the importance of developing organizational agility and alliance capability to survive during turbulence times such COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The study's data was gathered through a survey of 103 top management teams from 55 publicly listed companies in Indonesia, and the responses were analyzed to determine the relationships between leadership, agile organization, alliance management, and firm performance. Findings: This study found that ambidextrous leadership at publicly listed companies has no direct impact on firm performance during times of turbulence. Agility and alliance management capability, on the other hand, fully mediate the relationship between ambidextrous leadership and firm performance. Research limitations/implications: Leaders, particularly those in public listed companies, must continuously improve their organizational agility and alliance management capability to remain competitive and adaptive to face environmental changes. For utilizing organizational agility and alliance management capability as a firm strategy during times of turbulences, ambidextrous leaders are expected to balance exploiting and exploring practices. Originality/value: This study compares the perceptions of top management team during and normal time and during the COVID-19 pandemic specifically on leadership, agility, and alliance management capability in a stock market environment. © The Author(s).

Macroeconomic shocks, firm leverage and bank risk

In this paper, we explore the transmission of risks induced by macroeconomic shocks from real economy to financial sector. We first construct a two-period general equilibrium model that includes households, firms and banks, to reveal the mechanism of macroeconomic shocks affecting bank risks. Based on a quarterly dataset of 14 major listed banks and their lending-related firm clients from 2017 to 2020, we empirically test the firm leverage channel through which macroeconomic shocks (Corona Virus Disease 2019 as an instance) affect bank risks. The results show that: 1) The increase in the firm leverage will significantly push up the risk of banks that provide credit services for these firms;2) macroeconomic shocks could further intensify the positive correlation between firm leverage and bank risk;3) the previous findings are more prominent among joint-stock banks, state-owned and large enterprises. In addition, the impact of firm leverage on bank risk under macroeconomic shocks is more pronounced for the 50% and lower quantiles of the distribution. © 2022, Editorial Board of Journal of Systems Engineering Society of China. All right reserved.

The Performance and Diversification Potential of Non-Listed Value-Add Real Estate Funds in Japan

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, non-core investments are gaining traction amongst institutional investors due to the shifting preference towards investment vehicles that position higher on the risk–return curve. Non-listed value-add real estate funds in Japan are one such vehicle. This research develops a comprehensive bespoke benchmark total return index using the ANREV database to reflect the performance of Japan-focussed non-listed value-add real estate funds. We compare the performance of such funds with that of other asset classes and perform portfolio and regression analyses. We conclude that there are several advantages to investing in those funds, including: (1) strong absolute total return performance, (2) competitive risk-adjusted performance, and (3) significant portfolio diversification potential in a mixed-asset portfolio context. The strategic implications for real estate investors are also assessed.

IS TOO MUCH A GOOD THING? THE NON-LINEAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL AND FINANCIAL COMPETITIVENESS IN THE CHINESE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

As one of the five largest industries in China, the automotive industry may well become a prosperous market of production and a large consumer market, but with the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, automotive companies have suffered great losses. How to maintain financial competitiveness (FC) through innovation and knowledge after this calamity has become an area of focus for researchers and practitioners. By analyzing listed Chinese automotive companies over the period 2013-2018, the research focus is to determine the non-linear effect of intellectual capital (IC) on FC. IC is measured by the modified Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (MVAIC) model, and FC is measured through a comprehensive index system. The results reveal a cubic relationship between IC and FC. In addition, physical, innovation, and relational capitals have an S-shaped relationship with FC, whereas human capital has an inverted S-shaped curve. The non-linear effect of SC on FC is not significant. It is recommended that managers optimize investment in IC to drive FC in organizations.

The daily urban dynamic indicator: Gauging the urban dynamic in Porto during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak motivated the development of a myriad of weekly and daily indicators that track economic activity to estimate and predict the consequences of the pandemic. With some exceptions, these indicators are calculated at the country level and are mainly focused on tracking economic factors, disregarding local urban phenomena. To address this, we present the Urban Dynamic Indicator (UDI), a novel composite indicator designed to measure a city's daily urban dynamic. The UDI is applied to Porto municipality, in Portugal, and it corresponds to a latent factor obtained through a factor analysis over seasonal adjusted daily data regarding traffic intensity, public transportation usage, internet usage in public buses, NO2 emissions and noise level. The UDI's values show that, by the end of 2020, despite the approach of economic activity to its pre-pandemic values, as suggested by the Portuguese Daily Economic Indicator (DEI), Porto urban dynamic did not recover completely. The UDI enriches the information available for Porto city planners and policymakers to respond to crisis situations and to gauge the application of local policies that contribute to urban sustainable planning. Furthermore, the methodology defined in this work can be followed for the development of daily urban dynamic indicators elsewhere.