Determinants of Dividend Policy of the Listed Companies in the Automotive, Food and Beverage and Telecommunication Sectors in the Stock Exchange of Thailand

Abstract

This research compared the determinants of dividend policy among listed companies in Automotive, Food and Beverage and Telecommunication sectors in the Stock Exchange of Thailand )SET .(It studied the relationship among Return on Equity )ROE(, Net Income, Return on Asset )ROA(, Stock Price, Debt to Equity Ratio) D/E(, Operating Cash Flow, Return on Investment )ROI(, Price per Book Value) P/BV(, Earning per Share )EPS(, Sales on Dividend per Share. The statistical analysis was performed using fixed effect panel data regression model on 59 listed companies from three sectors during 2011-2015. The results showed that determinants of dividend vary among the three sectors. Return on Assets )ROA) showed positive and statistically significant realtionship with dividend policy in Automotive and Food and Beverage sectors, while Price to Book Value influenced the dividend policy in Automotive and Telecommunication sectors. Return on Equity (ROE), Return on Investment (ROI) have been shown to influence the dividend policy in Food and Beverage and Telecommunication sectors. Industry specific factors include Net Income and Price for Automotive sector, Earning per Share for Food and Beverage and Operating Cash Flow for Telecommunication sector. The study contributed to better understanding of key determinants of dividend policy in three key sectors of the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Crosssectional analysis could be conducted whether there existed sector specific factors influencing the dividend policy, and whether the results were consistent across other emerging markets.