The effect of foreign ownership on the financial performance of listed companies

Abstract

This study examined the effect of foreign ownership on the financial and market performance of firms in the South African economy. To review this relationship 18 foreign owned firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange All Share Index in 2010 were identified and paired with a locally owned firm of a similar size, in the same economic sector and with the same ownership model. The analysis was done in two phases. Phase One reviewed the financial and market indicators; Phase Two reviewed the investor return. The analysis in Phase One showed that foreign ownership did not result in any financial benefits for the firm, if Return on Assets and Return on Equity were used as proxies for financial performance. There was some evidence that foreign corporate firms create more value, as indicated by the percentage of EVA increase of 4.6% for the corporate ownership model. Differences in the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) between the local and foreign corporate ownership models could indicate that this increase is an accounting anomaly rather than an absolute benefit. Market growth data showed the opposite that locally owned institutional firms performed significantly better than foreign-owned institutional firms. In Phase Two, it was shown that although there was a material difference between the different portfolio returns, with the local portfolios performing better, the difference was not statistically significant. Overall, it can be concluded that there is very limited proof that foreign ownership has any secondary beneficial effect on the financial performance of South African firms.