| Author Name | ITO Tadashi (Gakushin University) / Michael RYAN (Western Michigan University) / TANAKA Ayumu (Research Associate, RIETI) |
|---|---|
| Creation Date/NO. | March 2023 23-E-020 |
| Research Project | Studies on Foreign Direct Investment and Multinationals: Impediments, Policy Shocks, and Economic Impacts |
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Abstract
Using matched firm-bank-FDI data, this study explores the possibility that firms with stricter financial constraints tend to choose joint ventures with a lower ownership ratio for their foreign subsidiaries. In addition, this study tests the hypothesis that parent firms with banks as their largest shareholders have a lower stake in their foreign subsidiaries because banks are risk averse. The empirical analysis confirms that foreign subsidiary ownership ratios are negatively associated with parent firms' debt ratios. Moreover, this study finds that the greater the degree to which the parent firm has bank shareholders, the lower the parent firm's ownership share in its subsidiaries. However, this tendency weakens when a bank has an overseas subsidiary in the host country, presumably because the information asymmetry is mitigated.
Forthcoming: Ito, Tadashi, Michael Ryan, and Ayumu Tanaka. "FDI, financial constraint and partial ownership," The World Economy.
