Department of Finance
MPF753 – Finance: Assignment 2 – Trimester 1, 2015
General Information
1. This assignment makes up 30% of your total assessment in this unit.
2. Due Date: Monday, 4 May 2015 (Week 8), no later than 5:59 pm (AEST). A request for a
time extension must be made in writing to the Unit Chair, Dr Mong Shan Ee:
mong.e@deakin.edu.au at least one day before the due date. This request must include
documentary evidence, such as medical certificate. Please note: since students will have
several weeks to complete this assignment and are expected to make good use of this
time, being unfit on the due date or just one or two days prior to the due date, may not
be an acceptable ground to get an extension. Assignments submitted after the deadline
without an extension approved by the Unit Chair will not be marked.
3. This assignment must be completed in a group of two (or individually, if prior permission
has been obtained from the Unit Chair). MPF953 students must make an individual
submission. The first page of your assignment report must clearly show the full names and
student ID numbers of both group members.
4. The word limit is 2,500 words (excluding tables, figures, appendices and reference list).
5. Marked assignment and feedback will be returned within 15 working days (25 May 2015)
of the due date or extended due date of the assignment if an extension was granted.
Assignment Submission via CloudDeakin
1. Your assignment must be submitted via the CloudDeakin site for this Unit.
Please DO NOT submit your assignment by email or send us a hard copy under any
circumstances.
2. We will add a link called 'Groups' to the navigation bar in the CloudDeakin unit site after
19 April 2015. Please use this link to register your assignment group before 30 April 2015,
5:59pm (AEST). You can register as a group of 1 or 2 students. Marks may be deducted if
you fail to register by 30 April 2015, 6pm.
3. Make sure you and your group partner register correctly. If you make a mistake or wish to
change the group, then please email the details (e.g., name, student ID number, wrongly
registered group number) to Dr Mong Shan Ee: mong.e@deakin.edu.au.
4. Do not join someone’s group unless you have permission to do so. You will be removed
from a group at the request of the other student!
How to submit your file
1. Name your MS Word document using your student number(s). For example, 1234566.doc
or – if your group has two members – 1234508_1234509.doc
2. Submit your assignment as a SINGLE MS Word document (no PDFs or other file formats).
Workings in Excel must be embedded into the word file (‘embedded’ means the marker
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can click on your table, which will then open in Excel, so we can check your workings).
Do not submit separate files.
3. You must use the Harvard referencing style (http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/studysupport/referencing/harvard)
and include a comprehensive list of references for both your
data sources and in-text citations.
4. There is no official assignment cover sheet. Before submitting your assignment report,
read the plagiarism and collusion declaration section in the assignment submission
dropbox.
5. All submissions will be checked for potential plagiarism using Turnitin© software. If
plagiarism is suspected, the assignment will automatically be referred to the Faculty’s
Academic Progress Committee. Turnitin: once you upload your paper as a submission, you
can access the originality report. You can still make changes to the document, if need be,
since the dropbox accepts further submissions until the due date (each attempt overrides
previous attempts).
Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes
1. Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities: appropriate to the level of study related to
a discipline or profession.
2. Digital literacy: using technologies to find, use and disseminate information.
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Case study – IPO Under-Pricing (30 marks: 12 + 8 + 8 + 2)
A written report of 2,500 words max. (excluding tables, figures and references)
Background
Alibaba’s IPO (initial public offering) is currently the world’s largest initial stock offering, raising
$25 billion for the company. Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce firm, made its stock market debut
at the New York Stock Exchange on 19 September 2014, with an initial offering price of $68 per
share and closed at $94.89, representing an increase of 38%. This big first-day pop in the share
price prompted its underwriters to exercise the option to purchase an additional 48 million
shares, taking the total number of shares sold to 368 million (Chen et al., 2014b). Alibaba’s IPO
has boosted the net worth of its founder and chairman, Jack Ma, to over $16 billion, making him
the richest man in China (Chen et al., 2014a).
Questions
Inspired by Alibaba’s IPO success, Jeff Parker, the CEO of Dynamic Technology Solutions, a
private internet-related service company, is planning to raise equity through an initial public
offering. Jeff is going to propose the plan to the company’s major shareholders, but worries
about resistance from some of the shareholders, who are known to be conservative. He
remembered from his MBA finance course that many IPOs in the US were issued at prices
substantially below the first day closing market prices. However, he was not sure whether the
short-run IPO under-pricing phenomenon exists in the Australian stock market. Jeff asks you,
the Chief Financial Analyst, to investigate and prepare a report on the following issues.
1. Short-run IPO under-pricing is a well-known phenomenon in the US stock market. But is this
phenomenon unique to US IPO firms only? In other words, does this phenomenon perhaps also
exist in the Australian stock market? To answer this question, you need to investigate the shortrun
IPO performance in the Australia stock market. To measure the short-run IPO performance,
you will have to calculate and analyse the initial return of IPOs that were listed on the Australian
Securities Exchange (ASX) from 1 January 2012 to 30 June 2013. The initial return (Ritter 1991,
p. 7) equals:
[ (The last trading price at the end of the first day of trading – initial offering price) /
initial offering price ] * 100.
Download the list of IPO firms with their issue price and the first trading day closing price from
Morningstar DatAnalysis Premium. The initial offering price is called the issue price in
DatAnalysis. Ignore those IPO without issue price in the spreadsheet downloaded from
DatAnalysis. Also, make sure you select the adjusted price for the closing price. Describe the
sample selection process.
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Critically analyse the results of your calculation using the entire sample and describe the insights
that could be gained from the calculation. For instance, you could describe the results of the
analysis using simple descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, etc., or the frequency
distribution.
Next, categorise your data/calculations into groups using three variables (e.g. industry) and
describe what additional insights you could gain from the analysis. You will decide which
grouping variables you will use and provide justification(s) for your selection. You should also
list any assumptions made in the analysis.
Wherever appropriate, the summary of your analysis and/or results (e.g., in a brief table, chart
or graph) should be presented in the main text of your report. However, the data, detailed
calculation/analysis and results should be presented in the Excel spreadsheet, which must be
embedded in the Appendix section of your report. Note that 2 marks are allocated for
organising and presenting the calculation/analysis and results in the embedded Excel
Spreadsheet and report. In addition, you must properly reference (Harvard style) all sources of
information used. (12 marks)
2. Select and discuss two theories/propositions that in your opinion provide the most plausible
explanations for the occurrence of short-run IPO under-pricing in the US and/or Australian stock
market. Perform some background research and use the findings to justify your selection. You
are expected to use at least two academic references for this task. You may use articles from
academic journals or textbooks, but not Wikipedia, Investopedia or other non-academic
Internet websites. You must properly reference (Harvard style) all sources of information used.
(8 marks)
3. Pick one stock market from the Asia-Pacific1 region (excluding the Australian stock Market).
Perform some background research and then describe one study that empirically investigates
the existence of short-term IPO under-pricing in the selected stock market. To answer this
question, you are expected to describe the study (including the research methodology used to
examine the existence of short-term IPO under-pricing in the selected stock market) and the
empirical results on the degree of short-term IPO under-pricing, and discuss the reason(s)
proposed by the study to explain the existence of under-pricing in relation to the two theories
discussed in Question (2). In attempting this task, you are expected to use at least three
academic references. You may use articles from academic journals or textbooks, but not
Wikipedia, Investopedia or other non-academic Internet websites. You must properly reference
(Harvard style) all sources of information used. (8 marks)
4. Please note: 2 marks are allocated for referencing. (2 marks)
(12 + 8 + 8 + 2 = 30 marks)
1 The list of countries included in the Asia-Pacific region can be found at:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/asia-and-the-pacific/
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Useful resources
You should read and understand Chapter 5 and 12 of your textbook. You are expected to do
research outside of your lecture time, using library/online sources, process the information
gathered and write an organised, well-thought-out response to the assignment questions. Here
are some useful resources:
1. ASX 2014, IPO the road to growth and opportunity, retrieved 10 February 2015,
http://www.asx.com.au/documents/products/ASX_IPO_Brochure.pdf .
2. Ritter, JR 1991, ‘The long-run performance of initial public offerings’, The Journal of
Finance, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 3–27.
3. Chapters 2 and 3 from: Black, K 2011, Business statistics: for contemporary decision
making, 7th edn, John Wiley, Hoboken. Available as a Deakin University Library e-book.
A number of resources relevant to Assignment 2 can be found at Library Resources Guides
website developed specifically for MPF753 Finance
(http://deakin.libguides.com/content.php?pid=5288&sid=3586901) and Padlet website
(http://padlet.com/buslaw221/mpf753).
The list of IPO firms, initial offering price, historical closing prices, and all other relevant financial
information should be obtained from Morningstar DatAnalysis Premium – a library database
that can be accessed via the Deakin Library website. Instructions on how to obtain the
information from DatAnalysis are given in a separate instruction document and short video
clips (posted at Library Resources Guide: MPF753 Finance and Padlet website for MPF753),
and will be discussed during the Week 4 Lecture (will be recorded). You are strongly advised
to attend (watch/listen) that lecture (recorded lecture and video clips) before you start to
work on your assignment. In your report, embed the Excel spreadsheet containing the data you
will use for the calculations.
Good referencing and carefully checking all your references is important. Make sure you leave
enough time to do this. For this assignment, you must use the Harvard referencing style, as
described in the Deakin guide to referencing: http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/studysupport/referencing.
Click on the ‘Harvard’ tile’, top left, to access the Harvard guide online or
download a PDF copy.
References
Chen, L, Mac, R & Solomon, B 2014a, Alibaba’s IPO Pop makes Jack Ma the richest man in China,
Forbes, 19 September, retrieved 10 February 2015,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2014/09/19/alibabas-ipo-pop-makes-jack-ma-therichest-man-in-china/ .
Chen, L, Mac, R & Solomon, B 2014b, Alibaba claims title for largest global IPO ever with extra
share sales, Forbes, 22 September, retrieved 10 February 2015,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/09/22/alibaba-claims-title-for-largest-global-ipoever-with-extra-share-sales/ .
Ritter, JR 1991, ‘The long-run performance of initial public offerings’, The Journal of Finance, vol.
46, no. 1, pp. 3–27.
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