The pre-IPO dividend and IPO underpricing: Evidence from China

Jiaxin Wang, Ruonan Cheng, Yong Huang and Chao Yan

Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 2023, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: More than one in five listed firms in China pay cash dividends during the year right before their initial public offerings (IPOs). This paper examines the association between pre-IPO dividend payment and IPO pricing using manually collected Chinese data from 2006 to 2019. We find that firms initiating pre-IPO dividends tend to have lower IPO underpricing than non-initiating firms. We also find that the effect of pre-IPO dividend initiation on IPO underpricing is more pronounced for firms with greater pre-IPO growth and profitability. Additional analyses indicate that initiating firms have better pre- and post-IPO operating performance and post-IPO stock performance. Moreover, initiating firms pay more dividends and attract significantly higher post-IPO investor attention. Collectively, the pre-IPO dividend initiation is not a short-term strategic behaviour of low-quality firms, but aims to send positive signals and improve investors' stock valuation.

Keywords: Dividend policy; IPO pricing; Firm performance; Investor valuation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G12 G32 G35 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s0927538x23002664

DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.102195

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