Connectedness of Vietnamese bank stock returns under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

This study begins with the assumption that the existence of abnormal circumstances will force investors to take measures to protect their investments in the capital market. Recently, the stock index in the Indonesian market has been declining and continued to fall until the end of April 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In terms of efficient market theory, prospect theory and signaling theory, this study aims to analyze the relationship between risk and return in the Indonesian capital market during the Covid-19 pandemic as a manifestation of investor behavior. To test hypotheses, the correlation test, the independent sample t-test and the Cohen test for 629 public firms with 52,836 observable data are used. The findings show that for financial sectors and non-financial sectors, the fourth period differs from previous periods when the relationship between systematic risk and stock returns is positive, although only non-financial sectors have a significant effect. The results show that efficient market theory, prospect theory and signaling theory are consistent with the phenomena around the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. In addition, Cohen’s test results suggest that government policies in the face of the pandemic are successful in stimulating the market.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs in Georgia, identify the challenges of SMEs in pandemic conditions, and analyze government economic policy measures. For this purpose, 102 small and medium entrepreneurs from different regions of Georgia were interviewed. The survey was conducted by sending a questionnaire through digital channels. The results were processed using data analysis, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and presented graphically. As a result, key challenges and development directions that are typical for SMEs operations in Georgia during the pandemic were identified. For 60.8% of surveyed SME owners, lockdown is the main challenge. Sales volume of 45.1% of SMEs decreased. In addition, 39.3% of the surveyed SME owners increased the innovative capabilities of a company and 37.2% increased the sales volume of a company through digital channels. The main challenge of the pandemic, lockdown, gave impetus to a change in entrepreneurial behavior. In a pandemic, entrepreneurial activity has become more favorable through digital channels. During the pandemic, there is a need to continue the government’s program of tax incentives and subsidies for SMEs. In addition, the government should promote education in the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology.

The facilitation of economic transactions and friendly investor environment is undertaken through effective performance of financial systems. Mobilization of savings and funding the profitable business opportunities are essential in improving the efficiency of intermediation. The study aims to evaluate the effects of nationalization and privatization on Indian banks. Various factors have been considered to examine the effects of privatization and nationalization, including sources of public sector inefficiency, measures of firm performance, econometric issues, and the mode of privatization. The data was collected for the period of 1998 to 2016 from Indian banks. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to evaluate the financial reports of the banks selected to evaluate the efficiency of input and output variables. Positive results were observed, concerning the efficiency and profitability of banking industry after banks’ privatization. Performance of private banks has been observed effective and efficient as compared to the public sector banks. Privatization of banks must be increased and maintained to sustain the efficiency of the banks and implement strategies to maintain the assets. Future studies may recruit more appropriate sample size to evaluate the privatization and nationalization effects of Indian banking industry. Greater number of banks will provide more precise results, using data envelopment analysis.