Impacts of Transparency and Disclosures on Firm Valuation of the Healthcare Sector in India

Impacts of Transparency and Disclosures on Firm Valuation of the Healthcare Sector in India

This study’s principal goal is to find the interrelation between transparency & disclosure (TD) and the healthcare sector’s firm valuation (FV). The paper uses the market-to-book (MTB) ratio and market capitalization as proxies, where sales measure act as a control variable. Dynamic panel data regression (PD) is the method applied for analyzing data. Data pertains to 10 healthcare companies gathered over five years (2016-2020). Results imply that TD has a negative and significant influence on the FV, where market capitalization acts as a proxy for valuation. This association indicates that a greater degree of TD diminishes FV. TD is also reported to have a negative and insignificant association with MTB. Therefore, TD does not influence FV. The findings of this paper have significant practical implications. Results can help policymakers determine mandatory disclosure levels that are not detrimental to the healthcare sector. Managers and analysts must also analyze the dimensions of disclosure that can negatively impact the firm’s valuation and make decisions regarding TD accordingly. This is the first study to assess the influence of TD on the FV of the Indian healthcare sector, which makes it unique. This study is limited to the healthcare sector, which is its shortcoming.