CEO International Experience and Foreign IPOs

Abstract

This paper examines listing location as a managerial decision by using a sample of IPOs of Chinese entrepreneurial firms in mainland China, the United States and Hong Kong. We find that Chinese entrepreneurial firms managed by CEOs with international experience are more likely to undertake foreign IPOs, especially those returned from countries with more advanced legal institutions and those operating in high-tech industries. The credibility crisis for Chinese firms in 2010 switched the focus of foreign IPOs from the US to Hong Kong. These results are consistent across returnee CFOs and other senior executives with international experience.

Keywords: China, CEO, CFO, Returnee, Cross-Border IPOs, Entrepreneurial Firms, IPO Initial Returns, High Tech Industries

JEL Classification: L21, F23, G34, L26, M12