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This study aims to investigate the effects of the intended use of initial public offerings (IPO) proceeds that is disclosed in the prospectus on IPO initial returns.

A sample of IPOs listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2005 to 2015 is used. The intended use of IPO proceeds is categorised into three uses, namely, growth opportunities, debt repayment and working capital. In addition to ordinary least squares regression, the study applies a more sophisticated and robust approach using the quantile regression technique.

The results show that the intended use of IPO proceeds for growth opportunities and working capital is positively associated with IPO initial returns, whereas debt repayment is negatively associated with IPO initial returns. When the intended use of IPO proceeds for growth opportunities is further expanded into capital expenditure (CAPEX) and research and development (R&D), the intended use of IPO proceeds for CAPEX is positively associated with IPO initial returns, whereas R&D is negatively associated with IPO initial returns.

These findings suggest that intended use of IPO proceeds provides useful information about IPO initial returns and investors can use this information as guidance to make informed decisions. In addition, regulatory authorities should pay close attention to the amount allocated to each intended use of IPO proceeds as this may play a critical role in the success of a company and the economy.

This study gives new empirical evidence on the desire and motivations of IPO and the usefulness of designated use of IPO proceeds disclosed in the prospectus in explaining IPO initial returns.

The authors seek an answer to the research question: how do the disclosure of the intended use of initial public offering (IPO) proceeds and firm characteristics jointly influence IPO performance?

Data on the use of proceeds, firm age, size, high- or low-tech industry, and the length of the use of proceeds section were collected from 341 IPOs in the USA, UK, and Hong Kong. Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis was used to predict which configurations of IPO use of proceeds and firm characteristics consistently led to above-average IPO performance.

Ten configurations of causal factors were found to lead to above-average IPO performance. Disclosure of IPO proceeds use matters for IPO performance but is contingent on firm characteristics. Whether a firm is in a high- or low-technology industry along with its size and age have distinct effects on which intended uses of proceeds are beneficial and how long their intended proceeds section must be to lead to above-average IPO performance.

These findings contribute to a multidimensional view of IPO performance. The authors use information processing and a management perspective to see how the use of proceeds sections help frame an IPO’s equity story. The use of a configurational methodology and a management perspective shows how IPOs can be viewed as a bundle of attributes.

The purpose of this paper is to discover how firms use issue proceeds from seasoned equity offerings (SEOs).

Utilizing a large sample of industrial corporations, the authors perform a series of regressions in which the dependent variable is one of six use categories and the independent variables are issue proceeds, other sources, and control variables. The impact of macroeconomic conditions on the use of issue proceeds is explicitly considered and the primary use is found to be investment in R&D.

Some evidence is found that issue proceeds are funnelled into cash, capital expenditures, and acquisitions but these do not seem to be the primary use. While the results suggest a motive for issue that does not rely on behavioural theories, they also suggest that investment theories must reconcile the weak post‐issue performance of SEO firms with the fact that, in general, R&D investment is associated with positive abnormal returns and operating performance. To that end the evidence is consistent with equity issues being made in reaction to exogenous reductions in required returns and during periods when growth opportunities are more plentiful.

This is the first paper to explicitly consider the role of macroeconomic conditions in the use of proceeds from seasoned equity issues and to document that the primary use is investment in R&D. The results will help scholars better understand the motivation for SEOs and assist in evaluating explanations of the poor performance of issuers. The results also provide practitioners with valuable benchmarks of the use of issue proceeds, which they can use to evaluate equity as a source of external funding for their company.

Since the 1970s, the North Carolina Legislature has authorized its counties to levy four local option sales taxes (LOST). Proceeds from two of them are partially restricted for school capital needs; two other LOST are used to augment counties' general revenues that may also affect school capital funding. Experiences from other states have raised concerns that the adoption of LOST may increase inequality in school finance, but the empirical results have been mixed. Using a data set of one hundred North Carolina county school districts from 2004 to 2006, this study examines how public school facilities are funded, and investigates whether the adoption of LOST aggravates or alleviates inequality in public school capital revenues in the state.

In recent years an emerging global trend of introducing legislation to use civil procedures against criminal assets can be detected. However, these civil forfeiture models, which exist vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This paper seeks to identify issues which need to be considered when such a scheme is being designed and examines the options which have been adopted.

The paper examines the legislative provisions in a number of jurisdictions setting out the common issues which have arisen and the range of options which have attempted as potential solutions.

The paper concludes that jurisdictions which seek to introduce civil forfeiture legislations now have various examples from which to learn but that these models will likely evolve in the face of litigation and experience as legislatures and policymakers attempt to produce fair but effective procedures for the civil recovery of criminal proceeds.

As further jurisdictions respond to this emerging trend and draft their own legislation, there is much to be leant from the issues which others have considered necessary to address and the way in which these issues have been dealt with.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the contentious issue whether lawyers become launderers when they accept dirty money as legal fees. Lawyers represent criminal defendants who may wish to pay for their legal fees with proceeds of their criminal activities. The paper analyses the legal position of Namibia and Zimbabwe on such tainted fees and proceeds to compare with the different position taken by the United States.

The paper adopts a desk research methodology with reliance on various sources such as statutory laws, case laws, books, journal articles and the internet. Its scope is limited to issue and content analysis relating to the use of dirty money as legal fees.

The paper shows that lawyers become launderers when they accept dirty money as legal fees with knowledge or suspicion of its origins. It concludes that the prohibition of dirty money as legal fees is important in the fight against economic crime in Namibia and Zimbabwe. Even though it is decriminalised in the USA, the continuous prosecution of lawyers for tainted fees shows that state authorities are aware of the dangers of tainted legal fees.

This paper adds to the few available literature on dirty money and legal fees. It provides sound reasons why prohibition of tainted attorneys’ fees adds muscle to the fight against economic crime. No prior literature is available on tainted legal fees in Namibia and Zimbabwe specifically.

In this paper the authors aim to introduce a concept that they call the “entrepreneurial growth ceiling” (EGC). They develop arguments that new venture IPOs hit the EGC prior to their IPO, and the ceiling is part of the impetus for going public. The paper argues that proceeds from the IPO will aid firms in breaking through the ceiling if the proceeds are strategically allocated.

The study examines a cohort of firms that went public in the same year. The authors code data from the prospectuses of 366 organizations, including how proceeds were to be spent, and then add performance data post‐IPO.

The results from a longitudinal study of IPOs indicate that firms that allocate proceeds to human resources and innovation (research and development) are more likely to break through the EGC quickly and enhance long‐term stock performance.

Entrepreneurial firms will have higher success when investing money into their human resources (people) and in research and development (innovation). Given the current high rate of change in business, the authors expect these findings are even more relevant for not just IPOs but for all organizations going through change.

Organizations that support and fund entrepreneurship and new venture growth should consider expanding their training to include human resource management, in particular as it ties to innovation.

The entrepreneurial growth ceiling is a new concept introduced in this paper. This research has important implications for IPOs and other high‐growth organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to inform an international audience of the difficulties prosecutors in the USA have encountered in light of a decision of the US Supreme Court limiting the application of the federal anti‐money laundering statute to cases where a criminal enterprise generated profits.

The paper summarizes the law in the USA regarding money laundering prosecutions before the decision in the United States v. Santos, outlines the decision of the Supreme Court, and organizes the post‐Santos case law into categories setting forth the divergent views of what the decision means and how it is to be applied.

The case law in the USA regarding money laundering prosecutions is now quite unsettled. Courts have taken different views as to whether the government must now prove that the funds being laundered by or on behalf of a criminal represent the profits of the criminal enterprise as opposed to its gross receipts.

The case law on this issue continues to develop at a rapid pace. It is necessary to cut off the research on this issue to complete the paper, but the reader should be aware that new cases are being issued in rapid order.

Prosecutors in the USA now face several obstacles in bringing money launderers to justice. Decisions in closed cases may be reopened as defendants argue that their convictions are obtained under an incorrect view of the law. Going forward, prosecutors are uncertain whether the government must prove that a criminal enterprise is profitable before they can obtain a conviction for money laundering.

Prior to Santos, it is assumed that it is an offense to launder the gross receipts of a crime or criminal scheme. Santos cases grave doubt on that assumption, holding that in at least some cases, the laundering offense will apply only where the financial transaction involves the net profits of an offense. This is an object lesson in the confusion that can result from inartful legislative drafting. It also provides a guide to the current state of the law and suggests how prosecutors in the USA are dealing with the problem pending any legislative correction.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Vietnamese laws and practices concerning the confiscation of proceeds of crime, especially in view of Vietnam’s obligations to meet the international standards on money laundering and terrorist financing, set by the Financial Action Task Force and relevant international conventions that Vietnam ratified. To limit the scope of this paper, the analysis focuses on the confiscation of proceeds of domestic crimes that do not require international legal assistance. This paper concludes with recommendations for improving the legal framework on criminal asset recovery in Vietnam.

This is a doctrinal study that considers the applicable legal framework. This study is supported by brief case studies of major cases involving the confiscation of proceeds of crime.

Vietnam has a functioning asset confiscation regime but gaps in the law, lack of financial investigation expertise and lack of focused investigative attention on asset preservation and confiscation are hampering its effectiveness. The key gaps can easily be closed with appropriate amendments to the law. These reforms should be combined with a dedicated skills development program to produce sufficient number of financial investigation experts and criminal asset management experts to support the regime. The training should extend to judicial officers to ensure an appropriate understanding of the asset confiscation law. Reforms such as these should follow on a comprehensive review of Vietnam’s law and practices relating to the confiscation and forfeiture of criminal assets. This review should extend to assets linked to the financing of terrorism and proliferation to ensure that Vietnam has a comprehensive regime to deal with criminal assets.

This paper draws on publicly available information regarding the confiscation of proceeds of crime in Vietnam. Little data is available on asset confiscation and that prevents an in-depth assessment of the regime.

This paper highlights gaps in the current asset confiscation regime and proposes reforms and approaches that will ensure a more effective asset confiscation regime for Vietnam.

To examine the criminal laws and regulations on money laundering control in China and Hong Kong and to call for legal and institutional reforms in China.

This paper provides a comparative analysis and critically reviews the laws and regulations on money laundering control in China and Hong Kong.

China has shown a firm determination to combat money laundering since 2002. Reforms on Article 191 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (1997) and the institutional framework are called for to comply with the international standards of the FATF recommendations, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) and the UN Convention against Corruption (2003) to control money laundering.

This paper highlights the problems and proposes both legal and institutional reforms on money laundering control in China.

This paper initiates the analytical research on the legal and institutional problems of money laundering control in China which had not been adequately explored.