The Determinants of Fisheries Firms ' Capital Structure : Comparative Analysis of Financing Behavior in Pre and Post the Asian Financial Crisis

We try to find the determinants of fisheries firms' capital structure during the years from 1992 to 2007 in this paper. We also have a comparative analysis of capital raising behavior in pre and post-IMF financial crisis. Regression analysis is used for this empirical study. Dependent variable is leverage ratio and independent variables are firm size, operating risk, proportion of tangible asset, non-debt tax shield effect, sales growth ratio, profitability and dummy variable. We compared the characteristics of fisheries industry with that of manufacturing industy. The determinants of fisheries firms' capital structure and correlation between pre and post-IMF financial crisis are roughly same as the hypothses except a little difference. As a peculiar difference, corrlation between fisheries firms' operating risk and leverage ratio is (+) in the pre-IMF financial crisis, but (-) in the post-IMF financial crisis. Proportion of tangible asset has a (+) correlation with leverage ratio in pre and post-IMF financial crisis, but in case of manufacturing industy, (-) correlation shows in the pre-IMF financial crisis. Because, in the pre-IMF financial crisis, high proportion of tangible asset doesn't play a role of a collateral, but only increase the bankruptcy probability. Non-debt tax shield effect and leverage ratio have (-) correlation in all industry and all period, but only (+) correlation in case of fisheries industry in the pre-IMF financial crisis. Sales growth ratio has no significant relationship with leverage ratio in fisheries industry, and this is not coincide with our hypothsis. We have a limitation of the sample size of fisheries firms and sample period in this study. Further study is required to classify the fisheries industry with in-shore fisheries, deep sea fisheries and cold storage industry.