A COMPARISON OF THE CAPITAL STRUCTURES OF THE TOP 40 MULTINATIONAL ENTITIES AND THE TOP 40 JSE-LISTED ENTITIES

Abstract

The strategies and policies of multinational entities (MNEs) centre on the focal goal of any company, which is to maximise profits and shareholder wealth. Management aims for an optimum ownership structure by implementing various strategies. One of these strategies is the debt-to-equity ratio (the capital structure). Previous studies conducted on various countries’ locally-listed entities confirm that the capital structure of an entity has an impact on the value of that entity. This then raises an interesting question as to whether the capital structures of the top 40 Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed entities are similar to those of the top 40 global MNEs. Based on market capitalisation on 31 December 2014, this study sought to compare the capital structures, using the debt-to-equity ratio, of the top 40 JSE-listed entities with those of the top 40 global MNEs on the Fortune 500 list. Independent t-tests were performed on the debt-to-equity ratios of the top 40 JSE-listed entities and the top 40 global MNEs as a group. Both independent ttests and the Mann-Whitney tests were performed on the debt-to-equity ratios of applicable entities of the group divided into three selected industries. The results of the independent t-test indicate a statistical and practically significant difference between the top 40 JSE-listed entities and the top 40 global MNEs’ capital structures. The results of the Mann-Whitney tests indicate that if the financial industry is excluded, there is no statistical or practically significant difference between the capital structures of the top 40 JSE-listed entities and the top 40 MNEs. However, based on the effect size there is a practical visible difference.

Keywords

• Top 40 multinational entities/companies/groups/transnational companies, Capital structures, Shareholder wealth