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This paper is an attempt to explore the fact that whether the literature-promised value premium has any sector orientation. The paper tests the relationship between the value premium and Indian sectors: fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), financials, healthcare, information technology (IT), manufacturing and miscellaneous.

The paper analyses around 210–480 companies listed on BSE-500 for the period of the recent 18 years ranging from March 1999 to March 2017. The paper employed Welch's ANOVA to examine whether the price-to-book market ratio is significantly different across sectors. Two prominent asset pricing models – single factor market model and Fama–French three-factor model – were used to examine the existence of value premium within sectors for full period and two sub-periods.

The empirical results of the paper suggest that the difference in the P/B ratio both between sectors and within sectors is statistically significant. The results further suggest that the value premium exists within the sectors irrespective of their value-growth orientation.

The paper is not free from certain limitations. Firstly, due to the non-availability of data in the public domain, the time period before 1999 could not be considered. Secondly, the study has used data pertaining to the Indian stock market only. To add to it, our study has concentrated on BSE-500 companies only; however, the future researchers can include both NSE and BSE companies.

The paper has important implications for portfolio managers and retail investors following a top-down approach of investing. The portfolio manager can strategically build up the portfolios to concentrate more on the companies belonging to sectors like healthcare, manufacturing and FMCG. Investors following the top-down approach should avoid the underperforming growth stocks belonging to the growth sectors and allocate their funds to value stocks in the growth sector.

The paper is first of its kind to study the relationship between the value premium and Indian sectors. The paper contributes to portfolio management and asset pricing literature for an emerging market.

This study endeavours to examine the relationship between information asymmetry and expected stock returns at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India, with a sample of NIFTY 500 stocks for a period ranging from 1st April 2000 to 31st March 2018, by employing three different proxies of information asymmetry: number of transactions, institutional ownership and idiosyncratic volatility.

The return differential amongst information-sorted decile portfolios has been assessed to understand the effect of information risk on stock returns by employing (1) traditional measures of performance evaluation like mean, Sharpe,  Treynor and information ratios, (2) regression models like the capital asset pricing (CAPM), Fama and French three-factor, Carhart's four-factor, information-augmented CAPM, information-augmented Fama and French three-factor and information-augmented Carhart's four-factor models and (3) an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model.

The empirical evidence indicated that as information asymmetry associated with portfolio increases, returns also expand to recompense investors for bearing information risk validating the existence of a significant positive relationship between information asymmetry and expected stock returns at the NSE. Amongst the various asset pricing models employed in this study, the information-augmented Fama and French three-factor model turned out to be the best in explaining cross-sectional variations in portfolio returns.

Strong information premium was observed such that high information stocks outperformed low information stocks which have strong inference for investors and portfolio managers, who all continuously look out for investment strategies that can lend hand to beat the market.

Easley and O'Hara (2004) proposed that stocks with more information asymmetry have higher expected returns. Very few studies have examined this relationship between information risk and stock returns that too restricted to the US market only, with a few on other emerging markets. No work has been conducted on the concerned issue in the Indian context. Therefore, it seems to be the first study to explore the relationship between information asymmetry and expected stock returns in the Indian securities market.

The present study seeks to investigate the relative edge between the market microstructure of the two leading stock exchanges of the Indian capital market, that is BSE and NSE with a focus on analysing their trading mechanism, efficiency, liquidity and volatility.

We analyse the microstructure of BSE and NSE on the basis of: (1) trading mechanism – ownership structure, listing of securities, trading system and settlement and clearing process; (2) information efficiency using unit root test, serial correlation, runs test, variance ratio and the ARIMA model; (3) liquidity using trading statistics no. of listed Companies, market capitalisation, no. of trades etc. and (4) volatility using standard deviation and GARCH(1,1) model.

A comprehensive scrutiny on microstructure of BSE and NSE makes it evident that the two leading stock exchanges of India are mostly similar and leave no scope to choose between them. Both the exchanges are demutualised corporate entities with a fully automated trading system in an order-driven market, informationally inefficient as evidenced by the predictability of returns, have shown tremendously growing trading statistics and by and large a declining trend in volatility over the years.

Understanding the components of the microstructure black-box will provide the regulatory bodies with an intellectual framework to strengthen the market architecture. Both the exchanges will get aware of the dynamics of trading, can grow to be more competitive and attract more firms for listing and investors for trading of securities. Also, investors, portfolio managers and equity analysts will be able to make better investment strategies by understanding how the market works.

Research in the area of market microstructure has been severely neglected, especially in the context of the Indian market. India is the world's fastest growing economies and we have witnessed tremendous reforms in the capital market. The past two and a half decades have brought about several innovations via demutualisation, screen-based trading, emergence of clearing corporations, innovative financial products and intense use of IT in the Indian stock market. A spurt of reforms and the emerging environment make it crucial to deeply analyse the market structure and design of two premier stock exchanges of India – BSE and NSE.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of financing the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) by building a three-level framework residing on host country market imperfections, ownership advantages of parent firm investing abroad and the industry to which it belongs.

The paper used random effects probit model.

Parent debt financing of OFDI by Indian parent firms is driven by the credit market development of the host country, the uniqueness of the industry to which parent firm belongs and systematic risk. Debt-oriented firms are found to invest more via parent debt.

The limitations of this study are as follows: –first, time period before 2008 could not be considered due to unavailability of data in the public domain. Second, the characteristics of foreign affiliates that spread across diverse host countries have not been factored in. Third, in the case of parent’s industry-level determinants, financial sector has not been included because the financing and risk-taking strategy of this sector are quite different from other sectors. Finally, the present study assumes financing decision to be centralized in the multinational system at the parent firm.

The practical implications of this study are as follows: first, industry innovativeness must be taken as a guide by the Indian MNEs to finance their OFDI and they must provide equity. Second, the study suggests that Indian MNEs rely on their existing capital structure while financing their OFDI. Third, parent firms are found to follow the industry norms. Fourth, parent firms must finance their OFDI by considering the development of credit market in the host country. Fifth, host government must focus on improving the credit market development of their economy and not just reducing tax rates to attract FDI into their economy.

Empirically examining internal flows in a multinational system has limited the research in the area of financing the OFDI. The paper is one of the first attempts to formally develop a model of factors that shape financing of OFDI in case of one such emerging market – India.

The purpose of this paper is to explore country-specific and firm-specific factors responsible for attracting private equity investment across sectors in India.

The analysis involves three macroeconomic variables (rule of law, net FIIs and interest rate) across six sectors. Also, three firm-specific variables (ROE, DTA and EBITDA margin) for 89 companies with private equity across five sectors. OLS, Prais–Winsten, multinomial logit and probit regression models have been used for analysis.

The findings show that while rising foreign investments drive PE activity in energy and engineering and construction is one sector, strong legal structures and rising interest rates are the drivers of PE activity in the healthcare sector. In firm-specific analysis, though the profitability and leverage effect is invisible in the industrials and healthcare sectors, it is quite significant in IT and telecom is one sector and commodities sector.

Results are subject to limited data on private equity in different sectors. There is a lack of data for comparison on companies belonging to certain sectors like real estate, infrastructure, etc. A limited literature is available for reference purpose. Research findings may serve as preliminary criteria for private equity investors seeking investment in India.

The value of this research is in the identification of most relevant macroeconomic and firm-specific factors for private equity investors seeking investment across sectors in India.

The study aims to contribute towards the sustainable development of financial systems, by testing the performance of socially responsible investing alternatives in emerging BRICS countries. The study outcomes give us an insight into viability of responsible financial decisions in contrast with the conventional style of investing.

The authors examine the performance of socially responsible indices of BRICS nations vis-à-vis respective conventional market indices using various risk-adjusted measures and conditional volatility measures. We further segregate the 12-year study period to crisis and non-crisis period particular to the respective country, as well as a common global financial crisis period to analyze the impact of market conditions in BRICS nations and observe the performance using dummy regression analysis. Conditional volatility of the stochastic index series is measured using ARCH-GARCH analysis. Fama Decomposition Model helps rank the index performance through the sub-periods.

Fama Decomposition Model helps us observe that while Brazil secures a position in top rankers consistently, it is India that ranks top during crisis period. With evidence of outperformance in terms of risk-return by SRI indices of BRICS countries through the overall period as well as through different market conditions, our study contributes to the positive literature on socially responsible investing.

The study explores performance of SRI in BRICS and finds evidence of the sustainable investment to be non-penalizing to the investor, even as the performance trend remain distinct in the countries with same level of development. It has implications for the investors and asset managers to include responsible stocks, while for the companies and regulatory bodies to unite for better reporting and disclosures. Given the broad implications, future research is required to link the impact of various cultural, legislative and demographic factors on the level and performance of the socially responsible investment in BRICS nations.

The current study evaluating and comparing performances of the socially responsible investments in BRICS nations puts forth following implications for the different sectors of the society, especially in emerging countries: (1) BRICS organization – The association of five economic giants, having significant influence over global as well as regional affairs, can aim to orient the countries' efforts towards collective sustainable development by designing uniform SRI framework. (2) Investors – In the globalization era, the investor can gain from ethical cross border investments to diversification and country benefits. (3) Companies and regulatory bodies – Only voluntary or mandatory unified efforts, to provide accurate and consistent disclosures, can upscale the mediocre growth trends of sustainable investing in emerging economies. (4) Asset Managers – Call of greater role in educating, warding off inhibitions related to RI.

This is to certify that the research paper submitted by us is an outcome of our independent and original work. We have duly acknowledged all the sources from which the ideas and extracts have been taken. The project is free from any plagiarism and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.

The purpose of this study is to ascertain how foreign and domestic Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) investing in Indian equities affect their return volatility and pricing efficiency. Further, we investigate how the difference in market timings affect the impact of ETFs on their constituents. Lastly, we examine how these effects vary during tranquil and turmoil periods in the ETF markets.

The study is based on quarterly data for stocks comprising the CNX Nifty 50 Index from 2009Q1 to 2019Q3. The data on holdings of 45 domestic and 196 foreign ETFs in the sample stocks were obtained from Thomson Reuters' Eikon. The paper employs a panel-regression methodology with stock and time fixed effects and robust standard errors.

Foreign ETFs from North America and the Asia Pacific largely have an adverse impact on stocks' return volatility. In times of turmoil, stocks with higher coverage of European, North American and Domestic funds are susceptible to volatility shocks emanating from these regions. European and Asia Pacific ETFs are associated with improved price discovery while North American funds impound a mean-reverting component in stock prices. However, in turbulent markets, both positive and negative impacts of ETFs on pricing efficiency coexist.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that examines the impact of domestic as well as foreign ETFs on the equities of an emerging market. Furthermore, the study is unique as we investigate how the effects of ETFs vary in turbulent and tranquil markets. Moreover, the paper examines the role of asynchronous market timings in determining the ETF impact. The paper adds to the growing literature on the unintended consequences of index-linked products.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the performance of socially responsible stocks portfolio vis-à-vis portfolios of general companies in the Indian stock market.

The study has used absolute rate of return as well as various risk adjusted measures like Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jensen’s α, Information ratio, Fama’s decomposition measure and dummy regression model to evaluate the performance of various portfolios.

Socially responsible stocks portfolios are found to have lower relative risk despite having higher systematic risk. Further the authors find that during crisis and post-crisis period, socially responsible stocks portfolio generated significantly higher return as compared to other portfolios in the Indian stock market. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) Index and GREENEX Index provided positive net selectivity returns in all the three sub periods, especially during crisis period. GREENEX and ESG outperformed NIFTY and SENSEX even on net selectivity basis. This indicates that the compromise made with respect to diversification by investing in socially responsible stocks portfolios was well rewarded in terms of higher returns in Indian context.

The findings lend support to the case of socially responsible investing (SRI) in India and are relevant for companies, regulators, policy makers and investors at large. Mutual funds and other investment funds should launch schemes which invest in socially responsible stocks so as to provide the benefits of SRI even to small investors in India.

The study contributes to the related literature by analysing the performance of socially responsible stocks portfolios in Indian stock market which is one of the emerging markets.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the motives of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M & A) by Indian companies for the period 1998 through 2009. The study has also attempted to ascertain the post-merger paybacks realized by the sample acquirer companies. It also identifies the motives which help in improving the post-merger performance. The preference of the motives and post-merger paybacks realized across the development status of the host economy, age and industry of the company has also been found.

This paper uses a survey approach to collect the responses over the motives and post-merger paybacks. Statistical tools, namely, Likert scale, factor analysis, independent samples t-test and binary logistic regression have been used.

The study found that there are five motives of cross-border M & A – value creation, improvement in efficiency, market leadership, marketing and strategic motives and synergistic gains. The results also indicated that the acquirer firms expect cost and financial efficiency, stakeholders’ benefits and employee welfare post acquisition. The motive of value creation significantly improves the post-merger financial performance.

The study has only considered the cross-border M & A but not domestic M & A.

The research is an attempt to understand the dynamics which are responsible for motivating Indian companies to go abroad for acquisitions. Thus, it would help the prospective Indian acquirer companies to focus on the motives which help in improving the post-merger financial performance.

This research paper is original as it explores the motivation of Indian companies for entering into cross-border M & A. It adds to the extant literature of cross-border M & A by emerging economies multinational enterprises.