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The purpose of this paper is to present the best practice initiative in Poland, presenting codes formulated in 2002 and 2005 and focusing on the recent document known asBest Practice of WSE Listed Companies. Moreover, the paper aims to present practical aspects of implementation of new code between January and April 2008.

The paper identifies the guidelines recommended in three versions of the Warsaw Stock Exchange code of best practice. Additionally it discusses companies' doubts and questions addressed to the Warsaw Stock Exchange, analyzes technical challenges referring to new system of reporting on companies compliance as well as raises some concerns regarding the content of the new code.

The paper shows that the codes of best practice attempted to address the most problematic issues of transitional Polish corporate governance. The recommendations content was adopted during the last eight years as the response to the changes in market environment and governance challenges. However, the new code addresses mostly the strategic plans of the Warsaw Stock Exchange rather than the corporate needs and its implementation and communication with listed companies leaves a lot of room for improvement.

The analysis addresses the needs for coherence between the crucial moments of development of corporate governance and the code of best practice. Moreover, it points out potential shortcomings in the process of the code implementation.

The paper is based on the documents prepared by the Warsaw Stock Exchange, companies remarks as well as author's experience of working at the Stock Exchange during the first three months of 2008 code implementation.

This paper aims to examine the performance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) portfolio at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

This paper uses the CSR portfolio of public companies that was selected in a three-step procedure. In total, 23 companies were selected and formed a CSR portfolio that is traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under the Respect Index. The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is used to compare returns of CSR companies with respect to the market. The performance of this portfolio is measured in the period from 2010 to 2012.

This paper finds that the CSR portfolio measured under the Respect Index outperformed market in all time periods from 2010 to 2012. In addition, in 2010, the CSR portfolio exceptionally outperformed the market by almost 80 per cent. In 2011, even though the market was down, the CSR portfolio reported lesser losses: −0.93 vs −1.73 per cent. In the following year, the market regained and the CSR portfolio again outperformed the market by 14 per cent. This paper also finds that the CSR portfolio is more sensitive to systematic risk than to specific risk. In addition, the CSR securities move according to the market trend.

The limitation of this paper is attributed to a cause-and-effect relationship. In other words, it did not answer whether adopting CSR led to higher profitability or profitability reflected an awareness of market conditions that favored the adoption of CSR. The future research should focus on this issue and indicate whether investors prioritize CSR over profits or vice versa.

The results indicate that investments in CSR portfolio companies bring abnormal returns to investors. In addition, the CSR portfolio may resist market downturns and even bring exceptional profits to investors.

This study explains the CSR portfolio’s performance on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by using the CAPM.

Summarizes the reasons for and methods of regulation in worldwide capital markets; and describes in detail the development, governance and regulatory structure of the Warsaw stock exchange (Poland). Uses a variance ratio approach based on Lo and MacKinlay (1988, 1989) to examine price behaviour in the exchange from 1991 to 1995, shows that it is not a random walk market and puts forward possible explanations for its market inefficiency. Considers the implications for the Polish economy and suggests that public policymakers could tighten securities laws and exchange rules to improve the efficiency of this emerging capital market.

The purpose of this article is to present the results of empirical research concerning the identification of the impact of the transfer of companies from the alternative market to the regulated market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange on their operating and net performance.

The study was conducted based on the empirical data of the companies that changed the listing place on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Data regarding the years before the transfer were collected from the prospectuses of companies prepared mandatorily in connection with the transition to the regulated market. Data regarding the years of the event and subsequent years were obtained from companies' annual reports. As in other studies in the analysis, the operational metrics were used (operating return on sale, operating return on assets, total asset turnover), which was further extended to net profitability ratios (net return on ale, net return on asset, net return on equity). The significance analysis was based on the Student's t-test and Wilcoxon’s test.

The results show that before the transfer from the alternative market to the regulated market, companies improved financial performance. As a result of the change of listing venues, the results already collapsed in the year of the event. The downward trend continued in the following two years, with a noticeable improvement in the third year after the transfer.

The literature lacks such studies based on the Polish market. To the best knowledge of the author, this is one of the first studies in Poland showing the changes in operating and net performance of companies changing the stock listing venues. The research is based on a large group including all companies that have changed listing venues since the beginning of the alternative market in Poland. The article presents an original empirical result that can be used both by managers and investors in their decisions.

Financial derivatives markets are a relatively new development globally. In the USA, the first commodity derivatives trading began in Chicago at the Chicago Board of Trade in 1849. However, the first financial derivatives trading did not begin until 1972, when the Chicago Mercantile Exchange began trading futures contracts on seven foreign currencies. These were the world's first official financial futures contracts. In Europe, the oldest financial derivatives market was the London International Financial Futures Exchange, or LIFFE, which began trading financial futures in 1982.

The article aims to determine the implementation extent of the regulations around appointment and characteristics of audit committees and regulations concerning disclosure of information about the audit committee in Polish practice.

The author analyzed the informative content of management reports and corporate governance statements. The survey covered all domestic companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the years from 2017 to 2021.

The new guidelines resulting from hard law had a significant impact on the corporate governance on the Polish capital market. According to the research results, over the analyzed years, the share of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which appointed an audit committee within the supervisory board, clearly increased. Moreover, the research found that in the period under study, not all companies fulfilled the obligation to disclose information about the audit committee resulting from hard law. In particular, this applies to disclosures on how the members of the audit committee acquired competencies in the area of accounting.

The article concerns the operation of the audit committee in public companies listed on the Polish capital market. The study can serve as a reference point for further research on corporate governance. The results of the research may be an indication for those who create legal solutions in the area of corporate governance.

This is the first such comprehensive study on the characteristics of the audit committee and disclosures about the audit committee resulting from the introduction of hard law in this area.

The current paper aims to expand an empirical assessment of correlations of the stock exchange in Poland with other stock markets and foreign economies. The paper attempts to explore international spillover effects during the current financial crisis.

The study builds upon questionnaires and interviews with practitioners associated with the Polish stock market. The interviewees represent both the advanced and emerging European economies. At this point, analyzing the notions of a cross‐section of experts from different geographical regions increases the value of the findings. The interviewees were asked to comment on a wide range of examples mirroring the reaction of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) to economic and financial information derived from foreign markets in times of the current financial crisis. An empirical model evaluating the cross‐border implications for the Polish stock market was specified. The model encompassed a wide range of variables and events influencing the performance of the Polish stock market and investors' uncertainty during the nascent financial crisis. Semi‐structured interviews complemented the quantitatively obtained findings and allowed for a gap between theory and practice to be bridged. The qualitative approach injected a dose of realism into the empirical model utilized in the paper and contributed to the value of general findings.

The current paper reports initial responses of the WIG20 indexed equity prices to 41 economic and financial information sets, originating from systemically significant markets. The influence of these sets is ranked in accordance with their influential powers. The ranking indicates which information events are more likely to be prioritized by investors associated with the WSE and which news are ignored in times of the current financial crisis. Henceforth, the findings outline the crisis‐induced changes in the uncertainty of equity investors and the implications for investment decision making processes. Comparing the responses to economic and financial information sets among different stock markets and industries delivers insight into the profitability of the international portfolio diversification based on either the country or industry specific factors.

The paper focuses on the Polish stock market, which is relatively under‐researched by the existing body of literate. However, Poland's stock market became a leading central European bourse during the current financial crisis. Reporting a number of useful and important implications for the practitioners associated with the WSE constitutes the core value of the paper.

Poland has made rapid economic advancement since introducing its shock therapy program January 1,1990. Inflation is now below 22 percent and real growth exceeds 5.1 percent. Poland's future will be highly dependent on the development of its financial institutions. The commercial banks that had been branches of the National Bank of Poland and several other major banks are leading the privatization process. Five banks have been privatized and others will follow shortly. Cooperative — twinning — arrangements are being developed to provide international banking expertise and financial support for Poland's commercial banks. The profit maximizing financial institutions will be the primary vehicles to fund the development of Poland's market‐based economy. The privatized institutions will support the planned initial public offerings and joint business arrangements that are developing with western companies.

Investors around the world are eager to buy shares of newly‐privatized state firms. This behavior is understandable in light of the evidence that many governments underprice initial public offerings. This paper looks at Eastern Europe's first public offerings of privatized state firms (in Poland) and finds evidence of significant underpricing. We also find that the level of underpricing was masked by special discounts and the redemption, at par, of discounted government bonds. Using conservative assumptions we conclude that underpricing was almost 30%, three times the level reflected by recorded stock prices. Our study of the new Polish stock market indicates the need for caution when using data from developing capital markets. Prices, returns, trends and market capitalization rates in Poland were affected by unique, local financial practices.

This paper aims to empirically indicate the factors influencing stock liquidity premium (i.e. the relationship between liquidity and stock returns) in one of the leading European emerging markets, namely, the Polish one.

Various firms’ characteristics and market states are analysed as potentially affecting liquidity premiums in the Polish stock market. Stock returns are regressed on liquidity measures and panel models are used. Liquidity premium has been estimated in various subsamples.

The findings vividly contradict the common sense that liquidity premium raises during the periods of stress. Liquidity premium does not increase during bear markets, as investors lengthen the investment horizon when market liquidity decreases. Liquidity premium varies with the firm’s size, book-to-market value and stock risk, but these patterns seem to vanish during a bear market.

This is one of the first empirical papers considering conditional stock liquidity premium in an emerging market. Using a unique methodological design it is presented that liquidity premium in emerging markets behaves differently than in developed markets.