The Largest Shareholder Control And Accounting Performance And Stock Value

The state-owned largest stockholders had always been required to gain an absolute or relative control of listed companies in some important industries. The fiscal and monetary policies often encouraged the development of some industries. Did the absolute or relative control requirements make differences in the accounting performance or stock valuation ? what role did the legal status of the largest stockholder play in the performance ? What effect had the distinction between the stated-owned and SOE owned shares taken on the performance?I investigated 541 companies listed before 1998 in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, the empirical results are as follows:Industry group one (Utilities, metallurgy, pharmaceutical, food and liquor and agriculture, commerce, estate and hotel, material industry), the largest shareholder with more than 50 percent ownership improved the accounting performance, but the case is completely on the opposite side for industry group two (Mechanics, Chemical, IT ,Clothing and so on ).For both industries ,the negotiated A share markets put a higher valuation on the corporations whose largest shareholders own only 20 to 50 percent of the issued shares ,compared to the corporations with a majority stockholder .The contestability of the top one shareholder with all of other stockholders played a significantly positively role in the corporations'accounting performance of the group one industries, but the case is opposite for the group two industries. The ratio of market to book value is significantly negatively correlated with the largest stockholder's contestability with the coalition of all other stockholders.The stock market's attitude towards the fixed-asset to total asset ratio is negative. The accounting performance is worst for the companies whose largest stockholder is a government bureau or a government affiliated asset managent corporation. The industry investment company performs best. The state-owned shares of the largest stockholder has played a negative role in the accounting performance, but the SOE-owned shareholdings's role is positive.