IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/irlaec/v72y2022ics0144818822000497.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The value of fiduciary duties: Evidence from en bloc sales in Singapore

Author

Listed:
  • Hu, Jianfeng
  • Low, Kelvin F.K.
  • Zhang, Wei

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of fiduciary duties on collective asset sales in the case of owners acting as delegates for other owners, thereby potentially inducing conflicts of interests. Our identification strategy exploits a unique legal shock in Singapore, which established fiduciary duties in those transactions in the real estate market known colloquially as en bloc sales. The imposition of fiduciary duties caused the price premium of units sold via en bloc sales to increase over units ineligible for en bloc sale, as well as over units that, although eligible for en bloc sale, are sold individually. In addition, this valuation effect is stronger for projects with especially severe agency problems as proxied by high ownership turnover. This legal reform also affects the general private housing market beyond the en bloc premium: findings show that residential owners are increasingly willing to participate and reduce condominium turnover. Finally, we find that the stock price of public real estate developers responded positively to the legal reform, which indicates a possible overall positive welfare effect. Our study highlights the importance of judicial oversight for addressing agency conflicts in non-consensual asset-sale mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • Hu, Jianfeng & Low, Kelvin F.K. & Zhang, Wei, 2022. "The value of fiduciary duties: Evidence from en bloc sales in Singapore," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:72:y:2022:i:c:s0144818822000497
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irle.2022.106093
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0144818822000497
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irle.2022.106093?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bo Becker & Per Strömberg, 2012. "Fiduciary Duties and Equity-debtholder Conflicts," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(6), pages 1931-1969.
    2. Bebchuk, Lucian A. & Cohen, Alma, 2005. "The costs of entrenched boards," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 409-433, November.
    3. Dain C. Donelson & Christopher G. Yust, 2014. "Litigation Risk and Agency Costs: Evidence from Nevada Corporate Law," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(3), pages 747-780.
    4. R. H. Coase, 2013. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 837-877.
    5. La Porta, Rafael & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "Legal Determinants of External Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1131-1150, July.
    6. Comment, Robert & Schwert, G. William, 1995. "Poison or placebo? Evidence on the deterrence and wealth effects of modern antitakeover measures," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 3-43, September.
    7. Lin, Chen & Officer, Micah S. & Zou, Hong, 2011. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and acquisition outcomes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 507-525.
    8. Alchian, Armen A & Demsetz, Harold, 1972. "Production , Information Costs, and Economic Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(5), pages 777-795, December.
    9. Harford, Jarrad, 2003. "Takeover bids and target directors' incentives: the impact of a bid on directors' wealth and board seats," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 51-83, July.
    10. Alice Christudason, 2010. "Legal framework for collective sale of real estate in Singapore," Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(2), pages 109-122, March.
    11. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    12. Easterbrook, Frank H & Fischel, Daniel R, 1993. "Contract and Fiduciary Duty," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 425-451, April.
    13. Baker, Tom & Griffith, Sean J., 2010. "Ensuring Corporate Misconduct," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226035154, June.
    14. Bates, Thomas W. & Lemmon, Michael L. & Linck, James S., 2006. "Shareholder wealth effects and bid negotiation in freeze-out deals: Are minority shareholders left out in the cold?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 681-708, September.
    15. Guhan Subramanian, 2007. "Post-Siliconix Freeze-Outs: Theory and Evidence," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 1-26, January.
    16. Yun-chien Chang, 2010. "An Empirical Study of Compensation Paid in Eminent Domain Settlements: New York City, 1990-2002," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(1), pages 201-244, January.
    17. North,Douglass C. & Thomas,Robert Paul, 1976. "The Rise of the Western World," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521290999, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alexander Radygin & Revold Entov & Marina Turuntseva & Alena Gontmakher & Harry Swain & Jeff Carruthers & Karen Minden & Cheryl Urban, 2002. "The problems of corporate governance in Russia and its regions," Published Papers 12, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, revised 2002.
    2. Steven G. Medema, 2020. "The Coase Theorem at Sixty," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1045-1128, December.
    3. Himmelberg, Charles P. & Hubbard, R. Glenn & Love, Inessa, 2002. "Investor protection, ownership, and the cost of capital," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2834, The World Bank.
    4. Greene, William H. & Hornstein, Abigail S. & White, Lawrence J., 2009. "Multinationals do it better: Evidence on the efficiency of corporations' capital budgeting," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 703-720, December.
    5. Alley Ibrahim S. & Adebayo Abimbola L. & Oligbi Blessing O., 2016. "Corporate Governance and Financial Performance Nexus: Any Bidirectional Causality?," International Journal of Management and Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, vol. 50(1), pages 82-99, June.
    6. Amar Gande & Kose John & Vinay B. Nair & Lemma W. Senbet, 2020. "Taxes, institutions, and innovation: Theory and international evidence," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1413-1442, December.
    7. Eitan Goldman & Gary Gorton, 2000. "The Visible Hand, the Invisible Hand and Efficiency," NBER Working Papers 7587, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Quôc Thai Huynh, 2010. "Les déterminants de l’activisme des actionnaires minoritaires:insuffisance de gouvernance affichée ou de résultats financiers?," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 13(3), pages 95-114., September.
    9. Per-Olof Bjuggren & Johan Eklund, 2015. "Property rights and the cost of capital," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 523-537, June.
    10. Art Durnev & E. Han Kim, 2005. "To Steal or Not to Steal: Firm Attributes, Legal Environment, and Valuation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1461-1493, June.
    11. Al Dah, Bilal & Michael, Amir & Dixon, Rob, 2017. "Antitakeover provisions and CEO monetary benefits: Revisiting the E-index," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 992-1004.
    12. Sybille Sachs & Edwin Rühli & Claude Meier, 2010. "Stakeholder Governance as a Response to Wicked Issues," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 57-64, August.
    13. Portolano, Alessandro, 2000. "The decision to adopt defensive tactics in Italy," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 425-452, December.
    14. Johnson Simon, 2002. "Coase and the Reform of Securities Markets," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 1-19.
    15. El-Khatib, Rwan & Fogel, Kathy & Jandik, Tomas, 2015. "CEO network centrality and merger performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 349-382.
    16. Xing, Jieli & Zhang, Yongjie & Xiong, Xiong, 2023. "Social capital, independent director connectedness, and stock price crash risk," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 786-804.
    17. Dilger, Alexander & Frick, Bernd & Speckbacher, Gerhard, 1999. "Mitbestimmung als zentrale Frage der Corporate Governance," Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Diskussionspapiere 02/1999, University of Greifswald, Faculty of Law and Economics.
    18. Rowoldt, Maximilian & Starke, Dennis, 2016. "The role of governments in hostile takeovers – Evidence from regulation, anti-takeover provisions and government interventions," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-15.
    19. Atanasov, Vladimir & Black, Bernard & Ciccotello, Conrad & Gyoshev, Stanley, 2010. "How does law affect finance? An examination of equity tunneling in Bulgaria," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 155-173, April.
    20. Roumasset, James A., 1994. "Explaining Diversity In Agricultural Organization: An Agency Perspective," Bulletins 12982, University of Minnesota, Economic Development Center.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:irlaec:v:72:y:2022:i:c:s0144818822000497. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/irle .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.