ESG RATING OF CAPITAL'S EFFECT ON FIRMS' FINANCING SOURCES: A CASE STUDY OF ASIAN COMPANIES

Abstract

The study is aimed at presenting the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the effect of the work of companies and areas of possible implementation in the largest Asian companies. Corporate social responsibility positively affects a company's business reputation and builds trust with customers who value improved financial performance. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to find any correlation between CSR and firm performance in Kazakhstan and allows for improvement of both the enterprise sustainable development management model and its assessment. Results: Analytical observation, monitoring, and comparison formed the basis of researching the CSR programs of selected companies. NPM, ROA, ROE, and NPM for leading Kazakh enterprises, the augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, and the Student's t-test indicate a correlation between CSR practices and NPM, which is an indicator of profitability. Kazakh companies show a connection between CSR practice and firm efficiency, but this only occurs through net profit margin. The analysis revealed a relatively weak quantitative relationship between the main indicators of stock market activity for companies and their net income. The results provide the basis for the hypothesis that business activity indicators in stock markets today are influenced not only by financial performance indicators. One of the key factors influencing companies' positions in stock market indices is their reputation (image) capital, which affects key indicators and ESG market ratings.