Board Size and Firm Performance: Case of Kuwait

This study examined the relationship between board size and firm performance using a sample of 110 non-financial listed firms on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) from 2009 to 2017 (9 years). Empirical tests were conducted using OLS and 2SLS regressions as well as two performance measures to control the issues of endogeneity and causality; the study found that board size negatively affected firm performance. Thus, a small board size is better for non-financial Kuwaiti listed firms, which is consistent with agency theory and the majority of previous studies conducted in developed and developing countries. However, the causality issue does exist. The study makes a number of contributions to the corporate governance literature—namely, it provides a good understanding of the relationship board size and firm performance. In addition, examining such variables without considering the issues of endogeneity and causality would lead to misleading results. Finally, this study provides clear evidence for regulators in Kuwait to design an optimal board size to improve listed firms.

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION ABOUT COMPANIES ON THEIR STOCK QUOTES: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF COMPANIES PARTICIPATING IN KUWAIT AND SAUDI ARABIA STOCK EXHANGES

Market Share Prices have important roles in determining the performance of the companies. Companies aim continuously to have a high market share prices for many goals. Therefore, understanding all variables that affect share prices is vital for investors. To examine if the Accounting Information affects market share prices, we studied the effect of some financial ratios determined from accounting statements on share prices for listed firms on Kuwait Stock Exchange and Saudi Stock Exchange. For Kuwait stock exchange, the quantitative methodology relied on the panel multiple regression through compiling and analyzing the Accounting Information and Market Share Price using secondary data for the period 2011 – 2018. The independent variables are Return on Equity (ROE), Earning per Share (EPS), and Dividend per Share(DPS) and the dependent variable is Market Share Price (MSP) of premier listed companies on Kuwait stock exchange. The analysis of the coefficient of correlation (R) shows that the correlation is very strong among DPS and EPS, DPS and ROE, EPS and ROE whilst it is strong among MSP and ROE, MSP and DPS, and EPS and MSP. Moreover, the variation of the three variables affects strongly the variation of MSP significantly on 1%. Therefore, there is a cause-effect relation between Accounting Information and MSP. Moreover, this paper examines the impact of return and leverage ratios on the Market Share Price of listed firms on Saudi Stock Exchange. The panel-data approach of fixed effect is used during the period of 2015 to 2018. To achieve the purpose of research return on equity as a proxy for profitability information, debt to equity ratio as a proxy for profitability ratio and natural logarithm of total assets as a proxy for the firms’ size are considered as dependent variables while market share price is considered as an independent variable. The results indicate that debt ratio and degree of financial leverage is negatively determining the share price while size has significant positive impact on the share. Debt to equity ratio is insignificant in effecting share price.

Earnings shocks: An event study on Boursa Kuwait

This study investigates the effects of earnings announcements on stock prices in Boursa Kuwait, formerly known as the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). The data spans the period 2018–2020, and both positive and negative earnings announcements are employed as shock events and their effects assessed. The study results show that there is a statistically abnormal rate of return before and after the earnings announcements and that most abnormal returns are just after the earnings announcement. This most likely indicates that Boursa Kuwait is a semi-strong efficient stock market. One important implication is an indication that insider-related trading might be absent in Boursa Kuwait.

MARKETING EXPENDITURE IMPACT ON BANK’S FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY ON KUWAITI BANKS

Marketing personnel are always under pressure to justify their marketing strategies expenses to bank top management and shareholders. This study aims to provide some justification for their expenses by linking it to the financial performance of the firm. Using the data of ten Kuwaiti banks that are listed at Kuwait stock exchange (KSE) over the period spanning from 2008 to 2018, results show that there is a statistically significant direct relation between marketing expenditure and the financial performance of banks in Kuwait. In addition, results show that both bank size and assets per employee also have a direct relation with bank performance. JEL: G21; G24; G10 <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0728/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The estimation of banking industry staffing level benchmark: A case study on Kuwaiti banks

This study aims to examine whether or not Kuwaiti banks are overstaffed based on the data of ten Kuwaiti banks listed at Kuwait stock exchange (KSE) over the period 2010-2018. Using panel regression analysis, the results show that six banks were overstaffed while the remaining four banks were understaffed. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) was the most overstaffed bank in Kuwait while Commercial bank was the most understaffed bank. Gulf bank was the closest to the estimated number of staff followed by AlAhli bank. The results also revealed that there was a statistically significant inverse relationship between staffing level and return on assets (ROA) while, on the other hand, there was a statistically significant direct relationship between total assets and the number of branches with staffing level.

Boards of directors and firm performance: A study of non-financial listed firms on the Kuwait Stock Exchange

Prior to 2017, there were no corporate governance rules in Kuwait. The previous rules were silent regarding boards of directors, shareholders’ rights, disclosure, and auditing. However, at the beginning of 2017, the Kuwaiti government introduced new governance rules and required all firms listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) to comply with these rules. This study examined the impact of boards of directors on firm performance following the implementation of these new rules using a sample of 89 non-financial listed firms from 2017 to 2019. The study used four board variables – namely, board size, board independence, family directors, and board diversity – and found that, based on Tobin’s results, board size, board independence, and board diversity significantly impact firm performance whereas the ROA results indicate that only family directors significantly impact firm performance

Restructuring Privatisation Programmes in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Lessons from the Kuwait Stock Exchange

Amid the eruption of a fiscal crisis from declining oil prices and the rise of economic diversification initiatives to foster private-sector development, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have increasingly recognised the importance of privatisation as a reform measure for underperforming state-owned entities. This article reviews the surrounding objectives of privatisation and presents an optimal privatisation programme structure for GCC policymakers that caters to the requirements of the modern day. Lessons learnt from privatisations of developed countries may not be directly applicable; thus, the recent success case in the region embodied by the Kuwait Stock Exchange privatisation is incorporated to settle upon a recommended privatisation programme structure relevant to the GCC. Though the fiscal crisis for the GCC is only beginning, rushing towards privatisation without careful planning of the programme is inexcusable.

Corporate Governance Disclosure and Ownership Concentration in Non-Financial Listed Firms in Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)

This paper demonstrates the effect of ownership concentration among large shareholders on corporate governance disclosure (CGD) in Kuwait. Secondary data were collected from 82 non-financial firms listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange in 2018. The study used an ordinary least square regression. The 35-item CGD index served as the dependent variable while the independent variables comprised four variables of ownership and four control variables. Ownership concentration by institutions and government negatively affected the CGD index; ownership concentration by blockholders or families (individuals) had no significant impact on the CGD index.

The Impact of Earnings Management on Dividend Policy: Evidence From Kuwait

This study has two main objectives. The first is to examine the impact of Earnings Management (EM) on dividend policy for the Kuwait’s industrial and service sectors. The second is to sieve out the possible explanations for the conflicting results regarding this topic. Using Modified Jones Model, a sample of 46 companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange with a total of (184) firm-year observations form the period 2011-2016 reveals an absence of a significant relation between EM and dividend policy. In addition, this paper posits a possible relationship between EM, dividend policy and market maturity.