Board member age, stock seasoning and the evolution of capital structure in Chinese firms

Paul B. McGuinness

International Business Review, 2021, vol. 30, issue 3

Abstract: This study examines the evolution of capital structure for Chinese stock issuers over an eleven-year period, stretching three years pre- to eight years post-listing. The paper scrutinizes the role of a key demographic in this seasoning process: The age of board officers. The present study’s key postulate is that board age proxies for a firm’s growth options. While issuer indebtedness exhibits little to no connection with other board properties, a strong inverse association exists with officer age. Moreover, entities with older boards experience notably smaller contractions in leverage on listing, as well as more subdued upswings post-IPO. Results are congruent with older board firms possessing fewer growth options and raising less capital at IPO. Additionally, study findings suggest that the Global Financial Crisis delayed Chinese firms’ re-leveraging adjustments post-IPO. Finally, changes to leverage at IPO, and in the years thereafter, appear similar for both hot- and cold-market issuers.

Keywords: Board member age; Corporate leverage; Stock seasoning; Chinese issuers; Hong Kong; hot-issue markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G17 G30 M40 M48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101769

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