Corporate nationality, foreign control and capital structure decisions in Nigeria

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to investigate whether corporate nationality and degree of foreign control influence capital structure decisions in a developing economy. The study makes use of eighteen-year time series data from 70 non-financial quoted firms in Nigeria. Using fixed effects panel regression models, it is found that though firm nationality and the degree of foreign control are significant determinants of corporate financing decisions in the country, they are not as important as acclaimed by local corporate stakeholders who champion discriminatory polcies in favour of indigenous firms. Thus, there is need for the Nigerian government to devote more attention in improving policy frameworks on areas such as corporate tax, corporate governance and bankruptcy practices, which are found by previous studies to be very important determinants of firm's access to long-term investment capital.