DIVIDENDS ON COMMON AND PREFERRED SHARES: THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATION IN RUSSIAN PUBLIC COMPANIES

This paper investigates the relationship between the dividend policy and ownership structure in Russian public companies. A study of the link between dividends and ownership concentration is based on the sample of public companies with dual class share structure. These shares were traded on the Russian Trading System (RTS) in the period of 2003-2009. The authors explore a broad range of factors related to the ownership concentration. This study allows making conclusions on the impact of the ownership concentration on the dividend policy. Moreover, there is evidence that this impact differs for the dividends on ordinary and preferred shares.