IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/14616.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Capital Structure and Firm Characteristics: Some Evidence from Malaysian Companies

Author

Listed:
  • Suhaila, Mat Kila
  • Wan Mahmood, Wan Mansor

Abstract

This study tests the determinants of capital structure for the firms listed in the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (BMSB) market during the six year period from 1999 through 2005. The financial statements of 17 companies with numbers of observations totaling 102 are used. We use dependent variable of debt ratio and is expressed by total debt divided by total assets while the independent variables are size, growth, liquidity and interest coverage ratio. Applying pooled OLS estimations, the result shows that the size, liquidity and interest coverage ratio is significantly negatively related to total debt. However, the study finds insignificant negative relation between capital structure and growth of the firm, expressed by the annual changes of earnings. The results also reveal that there is significant different in capital structure among firms that adopt more debt (more than 30 per cent of their total assets) and those which employ less leverage financing.

Suggested Citation

  • Suhaila, Mat Kila & Wan Mahmood, Wan Mansor, 2008. "Capital Structure and Firm Characteristics: Some Evidence from Malaysian Companies," MPRA Paper 14616, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:14616
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/14616/1/MPRA_paper_14616.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berens, James L & Cuny, Charles J, 1995. "The Capital Structure Puzzle Revisited," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 8(4), pages 1185-1208.
    2. Bradley, Michael & Jarrell, Gregg A & Kim, E Han, 1984. "On the Existence of an Optimal Capital Structure: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 857-878, July.
    3. Merton H. Miller, 1989. "The Modigliani‐Miller Propositions After Thirty Years," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 2(1), pages 6-18, March.
    4. M. Ameziane Lasfer, 1995. "Agency costs, taxes and debt: The UK evidence," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 1(3), pages 265-285, November.
    5. Harvey, Campbell R. & Lins, Karl V. & Roper, Andrew H., 2004. "The effect of capital structure when expected agency costs are extreme," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 3-30, October.
    6. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    7. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    8. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    9. Marsh, Paul, 1982. "The Choice between Equity and Debt: An Empirical Study," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 121-144, March.
    10. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    11. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1990. "Capital Structure and the Informational Role of Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 321-349, June.
    12. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Ang, James S & Chua, Jess H & McConnell, John J, 1982. "The Administrative Costs of Corporate Bankruptcy: A Note," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 219-226, March.
    14. MacKie-Mason, Jeffrey K, 1990. "Do Taxes Affect Corporate Financing Decisions?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(5), pages 1471-1493, December.
    15. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Berger, Philip G & Ofek, Eli & Yermack, David L, 1997. "Managerial Entrenchment and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1411-1438, September.
    17. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1995. "What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence from International Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1421-1460, December.
    18. A. A. Bevan & J. Danbolt, 2004. "Testing for inconsistencies in the estimation of UK capital structure determinants," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 55-66.
    19. D. E. Allen, 1991. "The Determinants of the Capital Structure of Listed Australian Companies: The Financial Manager's Perspective," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 16(2), pages 103-128, December.
    20. repec:bla:jfinan:v:43:y:1988:i:1:p:1-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. DeAngelo, Harry & Masulis, Ronald W., 1980. "Optimal capital structure under corporate and personal taxation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 3-29, March.
    22. Wald, John K, 1999. "How Firm Characteristics Affect Capital Structure: An International Comparison," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 161-187, Summer.
    23. Warner, Jerold B, 1977. "Bankruptcy Costs: Some Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 337-347, May.
    24. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-275, May.
    25. John K. Wald, 1999. "How Firm Characteristics Affect Capital Structure: An International Comparison," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 161-187, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohd Faizal Basri & Fitri Shuhaida Shoib & Surianor Kamaralzaman, 2019. "Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence From Malaysian Food and Beverage Firms," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(5), pages 45-52, December.
    2. Attiya Yasmin Javid & Qaisar Imad, 2012. "A Decomposition Analysis of Capital Structure: Evidence from Pakistan’s Manufacturing Sector," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 1-31, Jan-June.
    3. Maziar Ghasemi & Nazrul Hisyam Ab Razak* & Komeil Dehghani, 2018. "Determinants of Debt Structure in Ace Market Bursa Malaysia: A Panel Data Analysis," The Journal of Social Sciences Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, pages 390-395:6.
    4. Richard Arhinful & Mehrshad Radmehr, 2023. "The Impact of Financial Leverage on the Financial Performance of the Firms Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    5. Dejan Malinić & Ksenija DenÄ ić-Mihajlov & Ema Ljubenović, 2013. "The Determinants of Capital Structure in Emerging Capital Markets: Evidence from Serbia," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 98-119.
    6. Faaza Fakhrunnas & Wulan Dari & Mustika Noor Mifrahi, 2018. "Macroeconomic effect and risk-taking behavior in a dual banking system," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 10(2), pages 165-176.
    7. Md. Faruk Hossain & Md. Ayub Ali, 2012. "Impact of Firm Specific Factors on Capital Structure Decision: An Empirical Study of Bangladeshi Companies," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 3(4), pages 163-182, August.
    8. Siti Nur Aqilah Ab Wahab & Nur Ainna Ramli, 2014. "The Determinants of Capital Structure: An Empirical Investigation of Malaysian Listed Government Linked Companies," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 4(4), pages 930-945.
    9. Gbalam Peter Eze & Ekokeme, Tamaroukro Timipere, 2020. "Effect of Financial Structure and Macroeconomic Fundamentals on Firm Profitability," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 7(2), pages 114-122, February.
    10. Faaza Fakhrunnas & Wulan Dar & Mustika Noor Mifrahi, 2018. "Macroeconomic effect and risk-taking behavior in a dual banking system," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 10(2), pages 165-176, Oktober.
    11. Ines Chaabouni & Anis Jarboui, 2016. "Effect of board`s skills on stakeholder value," Asian Journal of Empirical Research, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 6(4), pages 84-100, April.
    12. Maziar Ghasemi & Nazrul Hisyam Ab Razak, 2016. "The Impact of Liquidity on the Capital Structure: Evidence from Malaysia," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(10), pages 130-139, October.
    13. Norliza Che-Yahya & Nor Akila Mohd Kassim & Nur Afiqah M. Rasit & Nursyazwina Zainal Abidin & Erni Nazirah Shahrel & Norizzanie Wajihah Zulkefli & Nurliyana Zalani & Atirah Abd Latif & Siti Sarah Alya, 2024. "Determinants of Capital Structure from Malaysian Shariah-Compliant Food and Beverages Firms," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 16(1), pages 76-93.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    2. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2005. "Company Financial Structure: A Survey and Implications for Developing Economies," Chapters, in: Christopher J. Green & Colin Kirkpatrick & Victor Murinde (ed.), Finance and Development, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Shoaib Ali & Attiya Yasmin Javid, 2015. "Relationship between Credit Rating, Capital Structure and Earning Management Behaviour: Evidence from Pakistani Listed Firms," PIDE-Working Papers 2015:121, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    4. Huang, Guihai & Song, Frank M., 2006. "The determinants of capital structure: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 14-36.
    5. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2001. "Company Financing, Captial Structure, and Ownership: A Survey, and Implications for Developing Economies," SUERF Studies, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, number 12 edited by Morten Balling, May.
    6. Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2017. "Determinants of capital structure in emerging markets: Evidence from Vietnam," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 105-113.
    7. Harjeet S. Bhabra & Tong Liu & Dogan Tirtiroglu, 2008. "Capital Structure Choice in a Nascent Market: Evidence from Listed Firms in China," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 37(2), pages 341-364, June.
    8. Firano, Zakaria & Filali adib, Fatine, 2022. "Optimal Capital structure and financial stability," MPRA Paper 115790, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2022.
    9. Isil Erol & Dogan Tirtiroglu, 2011. "Concentrated Ownership, No Dividend Payout Requirement and Capital Structure of REITs: Evidence from Turkey," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 174-204, July.
    10. Maria Psillaki & Nikolaos Daskalakis, 2009. "Are the determinants of capital structure country or firm specific?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 319-333, October.
    11. Antonio D’Amato, 2020. "Capital structure, debt maturity, and financial crisis: empirical evidence from SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 919-941, December.
    12. Joliet, Robert & Muller, Aline, 2013. "Capital structure effects of international expansion," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 375-393.
    13. Todd Mitton, 2008. "Why Have Debt Ratios Increased for Firms in Emerging Markets?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 14(1), pages 127-151, January.
    14. Francisco Sogorb- Mira, 2002. "How Sme Uniqueness Affects Capital Structure: Evidence From A 1994-1998 Spanish Data Panel," Working Papers. Serie EC 2002-18, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    15. Chaido Dritsak, 2015. "Box Jenkins Modeling of Greek Stock Prices Data," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(3), pages 740-747.
    16. Bülent Köksal & Cüneyt Orman, 2015. "Determinants of capital structure: evidence from a major developing economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 255-282, February.
    17. Stavros H. Arvanitis & Irakleia S. Tzigkounaki & Theodoros V. Stamatopoulos & Eleftherios I. Thalassinos, 2012. "Dynamic Approach of Capital Structure of European Shipping Companies," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 5(3), pages 33-63, December.
    18. Songul KAKILLI ACARAVCI, 2015. "The Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from the Turkish Manufacturing Sector," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(1), pages 158-171.
    19. Valeriya Valer’evna Metel’skaya, 2021. "Correlation-and-regression analysis of the influence of macroeconomic factors on capital structure of Russian corporations under crisis conditions," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-34, December.
    20. Glenn Boyle & Kelly Eckhold, 1997. "Capital structure choice and financial market liberalization: evidence from New Zealand," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 427-437.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capital structure; firm characteristics; leverage financing; Bursa Malaysia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:14616. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.