Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the catering incentives of dividends can
influence firms’ dividend payment decisions in Thailand.
Design/methodology/approach – The sample includes all listed stocks in the Stock Exchange of
Thailand during the years 1992-2009, excluding the firms from financial industries and firms with
incomplete information. The catering incentives are measured by dividend premium. The firms’ dividend
payment decisions are measured by propensity to pay dividends and decision to change dividends.
Findings – The findings yield qualitatively consistent with the previous research. After controlling
for the effect of the Asian Crisis during 1997-1999, the result shows that the firm’s decision to pay
dividend could be affected by the catering incentives. Furthermore, dividend premium will reduce the
probability that firms will decide to cut dividend payment from previous years.
Research limitations/implications – The result is limited to the availability of historical data.
The Stock Exchange in Thailand has been established for only 35 years. With the lack of availability
and completeness of data, the historical data could be gathered for only 18 years.
Practical implications – Investors in Thailand show their preference for dividend incomes.
This could be the catering incentive of the firm to decide to pay dividends.
Originality/value – This paper offers the evidence of catering incentives of dividend proposed by
Baker and Wurgler in the emerging market. Even though the result is not strong, it can be the evidence
supporting the catering theory of dividend, not only in well-developed markets, but also in emerging
markets such as Thailand.
Keywords Thailand, Dividends, Stock prices, Dividend premiums, Catering theory of dividend,
Stock Exchange of Thailand
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Dividends, together with capital gain, is a reward to investors holding shares of a
company. It is a fraction of a firm’s profit that is paid to shareholders proportionally to
the shares they own. Retained earnings are diminished by the payment of dividends.
This may affect a firm’s ability to reinvest, thus negatively impacting future growth
prospects. Consequently, potential capital gain is reduced by dividends income. The
simultaneous payment of dividends and issuance of equity generate transaction costs
that will likely deteriorate the global firm’s value. Additionally, income from dividends
is immediately taxed in most countries while capital gain taxation can be delayed. This
tax difference between dividends and capital gains will vary from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction, but in general capital gains have a clear tax advantage.
The above exposition raises the question of why firms decide to pay dividends.
However, there is not any dominant proposition that fully elucidate this question.