Cash Holdings in Shariah-Compliant Firms

Abstract

The restrictions of a shariah-compliant index could have consequences for corporate finance. This research investigates the difference in cash holding policies between shariah-compliant and conventional firms in the Indonesia capital market. Our empirical results suggest that a shariah-compliant firm holds significantly less cash compared to a conventional firm. The empirical finding still maintains after excluding top performers in the market and after controlling for other proxies of cash holdings and shariah-compliant firms. Our results suggest that the reputation benefit from a shariah-compliant index could outpace the cost of restrictions under a lenient shariah regulation environment.