Issue #3 (Volume 19 2022)

Investment in commodity markets in India accelerated after 2007; this was accompanied by large price variability, hence, it becomes imperative to measure commodity price risk precisely. It becomes equally important to study the relationship between commodity price variability and the stock market. Hence, this study aims to calculate the tail risk of highly traded Indian commodity futures returns using the conditional EVT-VaR method for risk measurement. Secondly, the linkage between commodity markets and the stock market is also studied using the Delta CoVaR method. Results highlight the following points. There is risk transfer from the extreme increase/decrease in crude oil futures returns to the Nifty Index returns. Both extreme price increase or decrease of crude oil futures driven either by financial or a combination of financial and economic shocks affect the stock market. Zinc and Natural gas futures are not linked to the stock market, which means they can be useful in portfolio diversification. The findings suggest that, in Indian commodity markets, EVT-VaR is a useful tool for measuring risk. Only Crude oil futures shocks affect the stock market, and extreme integration between them becomes more prominent when oil shocks are driven by financial factors. Commodities other than Crude oil are not integrated with stock markets in India.

This study seeks to expand upon existing empirical results about the effect of debt on corporate profitability. Indicators Debt ratio (DR) and Return on Equity (ROE) were used to examine the relationship between debt and corporate profitability. The input data for the analysis represented the financial data of companies operating in the construction industry in Slovakia. The total sample included 7,529 companies. After excluding companies with extreme values, the sample consisted of 6,402 companies. Indicators ROE and DR were used in the given research. To determine the debt threshold, a threshold regression model was applied. Using this model, a nonlinear relationship between debt and profitability was found. An indebtedness threshold has also been identified. Once the threshold is exceeded, the positive relationship between indebtedness and ROE changes to negative. The results, in particular those which indicate a significant non-linear relationship between debt and profitability, are particularly useful for all stakeholders (internal and external) interacting with analyzed companies.

Acknowledgments
The research was prepared within the grant scheme VEGA 1/0741/20 – The application of variant methods in detecting symptoms of possible bankruptcy of Slovak businesses in order to ensure their sustainable development.

India witnessed the first major wave of COVID-19 in 2020. The second major wave during April 2021 caused a higher number of infected cases across the country. These waves of COVID-19, rising cases and lockdown announcements severely impacted the Indian economy. Moreover, huge volatility was observed in the prices of oil and exchange rates during the similar period. Thus, this study tests the effect of selected macroeconomic variables and the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of the Indian stock market. Using co-integration and the vector error correction model on the NIFTY 100 firms, the findings suggest co-integration and long-term association among variables. The Indian stock market experienced an inverse connection with the exchange rate volatility; the coefficient value is 57.582. The exchange rates rose heavily (with a value of Indian rupee being 76.95 against US dollar) with the onset of COVID-19 cases. Further, these cases do hurt the sentiments of the stock market; however, the relationship is relatively infirm (the value is 0.22) as compared to that of the exchange rate. The accumulated major negative influence of COVID-19 on the economy had a weak impact on the stock market. In conclusion, it should be noted that after the first wave, businesses were more prepared and therefore incorporated the required changes that saw them through the second wave.

Acknowledgment
The infrastructural support provided by the FORE School of Management, New Delhi in completing this paper is gratefully acknowledged.

The digitalization of financial services has led to the emergence of new, innovative services and providers. This paper first examines which actors are defined in the related literature as members of the Fintech ecosystem and what their roles and responsibilities are. A common element in the literature reviewed is that traditional financial institutions, startups, regulators, the investment community, and technology developers are identified as actors in Fintech ecosystems. The analysis then highlights how the large technology companies that are referred to in the literature as Big Tech (Meta (Facebook), Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent) have become active in the financial services sector. It also examines which comparative advantages have led to the possibility for Big Tech companies to become third-party and then independent providers of financial services. As a result of their previous activities (software development, marketing, social media, online retail, and content services), they have acquired both a significant global customer base and outstanding IT development capabilities. These factors have enabled them to interact with former members of the Fintech ecosystem. They have formed partnerships with traditional financial institutions, then become their competitors, and they look to Fintech startups as acquisition targets. These factors determine Big Tech companies to become part of the Fintech ecosystem as a competitive service provider. From a practical point of view, these phenomena emphasize the need for the regulatory efforts on Big Tech companies.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is quite a new concept to business and society in Vietnam. Information on CSR reflects a firm’s commitment to ethical behavior in its activities and reputation. However, it is questioned whether the information disclosure has any relationship with firm performance. Employing panel regression of about 200 listed firms on the Vietnam Stock Exchange and space-based measurement of CSR disclosure, the study confirms a positive impact of CSR disclosure on firm performance. Firms use CSR disclosures to indirectly improve their performance. Firms that disclose CSR with greater degree of information experience higher marginal profitability. This finding supports stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, and signaling theory in using CSR disclosure as a tool to improve firms’ reputation and transparency, maintain long-term operation, and hence improve financial performance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, firms that engage more in CSR will suffer less from the pandemic than firms that do not. Thus, the study implies a promising CSR picture for corporations in Vietnam. Investors, policy makers and any related authorities can utilize these findings to get more insight into the business through CSR disclosures.

This paper examines the relationship between traditional and ESG stock market indices and the net international investment position for the case of Austria and Ukraine. For these purposes, the following methods are used: variance analysis, ANOVA analysis, correlation analysis, VAR analysis, R/S analysis, and Granger causality test. According to the results, ESG indices are less volatile than conventional ones. Based on the correlation analysis, it is concluded that there is a significant direct connection between ESG indices and their traditional counterparts (0.98 for Austria and 0.68 for Ukraine). A substantial level of persistence in Austria’s investment position indicates the possibility of using autoregression models for forecasting. The results of the net investment position modelling for the case of Austria showed a statistically significant impact of stock market indices on the net investment position. But for the case of Ukraine, this impact is insignificant. This is indirect evidence in favor of poor performance of the Ukrainian stock market. Further development of Ukrainian stock market is required, because Austrian experience showed that stock market can be used as a transmission mechanism in boosting investment position both within conventional approach and ESG.

Acknowledgment
Alex Plastun, Mario Situm, Inna Makarenko, and Yulia Serpeninova gratefully acknowledge support from Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (0122U002659).

This study explored the influence of the governance cost on financial service efficiency in Nigeria. The recurrent collapse of reputable companies and banks due to agency problems have motivated this investigation. The study empirically sampled 40 financial service firms from the 50 firms registered on the stock market. The study adopted an ex-post-facto research design. Data was collected using secondary sources from the firms’ annual reports to determine the influence the governance cost has on Nigeria’s financial service efficiency for nine years (2012–2020). Also, the study utilized the Panel Tobit regression to test the hypothesis. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to ascertain the aggregate governance cost, and the proxies were directors’ fees, auditors’ fees, CEO compensation, and chairman fee. At the same time, financial service analysis was derived using the Input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique under the constant return to scale (CRS) assumption. Consequently, findings from the study show a significant and positive influence of governance costs on the efficiency of financial services. The study, therefore, concludes that the current governance cost of the sampled firms drives efficiency within the sampled firms, and increasing the governance cost, based on the reviews on corporate governance structures, will not harm the efficiency of financial services. However, the consistent increase over time will harm efficiency. Thus, the study recommends an internal balance on the pay structure within the financial services.

Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge Covenant University for solely providing the platform for this research and for fully sponsoring the publication of this research work.

This paper explores the impact of cash holdings on stock returns in small and medium enterprises. The sample includes 24 SMEs listed on the Egyptian Nile Exchange, excluding service firms, with a total of 96 observations from 2016 to 2019. Data was collected from financial statements and reports obtained through an information dissemination company in Egypt. This study uses a panel data analysis with comparing all results via ordinary least squares and the generalized method of moments. The findings show a statistically significant negative effect of cash holding on stock returns in small and medium enterprises on the Egyptian Nile Exchange. Further, the evidence shows that firms with higher levels of cash holding have higher investment alternatives and then lower stock returns. This result supports the agency theory that an increase in cash holding leads to managers exploiting cash resources to achieve personal benefits, thus increasing agency costs, lowering investment efficiency, and therefore lowering stock returns. The results support the trade-off between risk and return by using cash holding to finance operational activities and investing in higher investment alternatives and then lower stock returns.

Recycling has substantial environmental and economic benefits, but the recycling industry is relatively inefficient. Approximately half of all recyclable material is not actually recycled, and this inefficiency is economically and environmentally costly. This paper investigates the potential for exchange-traded futures on recycled materials to increase efficiency for the recycling industry by improving the market quality for firms that buy and sell recycled materials. The aim of this study is to statistically analyze a novel data set of prices for recycled materials to demonstrate the potential efficiency gains to introducing exchange-traded futures on recycled materials. The theoretical basis for this financial innovation is numerous previous studies showing that introducing exchange-traded derivatives improves the market quality of the underlying asset. The results of the analysis show that price volatility of recycled materials is generally high, with monthly standard deviation greater than 6%. Price volatility of recycled materials is excessive compared to price volatility of analogous new materials. Also, stock price volatility of waste management firms is positively related to price volatility in recycled materials. Price volatility of recycled materials explains 12% of the excess stock price volatility for waste management firms. This paper includes a practical discussion of proposed specifications and standards for these new financial contracts and plans for further research studies. Along with previous studies on the listing of exchange-traded derivatives, the conclusion of the statistical analysis is that there are large potential economic and environmental benefits to listing exchange-traded futures on recycled materials.

Indonesia has a thin capitalization policy since 2015. It restricts the maximum interest expense that can be deductible from corporate tax payable. This paper discusses the association between boards with military background and the debt policy of firms, taking into account the thin capitalization policy. This study used a sample of 2,330 firm-year observations from companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2010–2019. A moderated analysis regression was employed to analyze the association of each variable. The result reveals a significant positive correlation with a t-value of 2.14 at a confidence level of 95% between military-connected firms and debt policy. The same correlation also occurred between board of commissioners with the military background and debt policy with a t-value of 2.18 at a 95% confidence level. Meanwhile, the correlation between these variables became significantly negative after the implementation of thin capitalization policy. CEM and Heckman’s two-stage method were used to validate the findings. This study is for a listed company to consider the appointment of military background in a board of commissioner position after a period of thin capitalization policy.