IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v87y2020ics0140988320300712.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Oil price uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Xiang
  • Zhang, Zongyi
  • Zhou, Han

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of oil price uncertainty on the cash holdings of firms. Using a sample of the Chinese stock market for the period from 2007 to 2016, our empirical results show that the impact of oil price uncertainty on cash holdings exhibits an inverted U-shape. Cash holdings increase with oil price uncertainty, but after a point, this impact becomes negative. Moreover, we find that the effect of oil price uncertainty is mitigated as the market value of firms increases. Meanwhile, state-owned companies are less impacted by oil price uncertainty. The results are robust to various tests and alternative explanations. Our findings are consistent with real options theory and pecking order theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Xiang & Zhang, Zongyi & Zhou, Han, 2020. "Oil price uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0140988320300712
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104732
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988320300712
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104732?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caporale, Guglielmo Maria & Menla Ali, Faek & Spagnolo, Nicola, 2015. "Oil price uncertainty and sectoral stock returns in China: A time-varying approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 311-321.
    2. Huang, Ying & Elkinawy, Susan & Jain, Pankaj K., 2013. "Investor protection and cash holdings: Evidence from US cross-listing," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 937-951.
    3. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan & Servaes, Henri, 2003. "International Corporate Governance and Corporate Cash Holdings," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 111-133, March.
    4. Alsalman, Zeina, 2016. "Oil price uncertainty and the U.S. stock market analysis based on a GARCH-in-mean VAR model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 251-260.
    5. Wang, Yong & Xiang, Erwei & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong) & Ruan, Wenjuan & Hu, Wei, 2017. "International oil price uncertainty and corporate investment: Evidence from China's emerging and transition economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 330-339.
    6. Thomas W. Bates & Kathleen M. Kahle & René M. Stulz, 2009. "Why Do U.S. Firms Hold So Much More Cash than They Used To?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(5), pages 1985-2021, October.
    7. He, Wei & Mukherjee, Tarun K. & Kent Baker, H., 2017. "The effect of the split share structure reform on working capital management of Chinese companies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 27-37.
    8. Ozkan, Aydin & Ozkan, Neslihan, 2004. "Corporate cash holdings: An empirical investigation of UK companies," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 2103-2134, September.
    9. repec:oup:rfinst:v:25:y::i:12:p:3572-3609 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Wen, Fenghua & Gong, Xu & Cai, Shenghua, 2016. "Forecasting the volatility of crude oil futures using HAR-type models with structural breaks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 400-413.
    11. Liu, Yixin & Mauer, David C., 2011. "Corporate cash holdings and CEO compensation incentives," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(1), pages 183-198, October.
    12. Aktas, Nihat & Louca, Christodoulos & Petmezas, Dimitris, 2019. "CEO overconfidence and the value of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 85-106.
    13. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    14. Jarrad Harford & Sandy Klasa & William F. Maxwell, 2014. "Refinancing Risk and Cash Holdings," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 975-1012, June.
    15. Phan, Hieu V. & Nguyen, Nam H. & Nguyen, Hien T. & Hegde, Shantaram, 2019. "Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 71-82.
    16. Ivalina Kalcheva & Karl V. Lins, 2007. "International Evidence on Cash Holdings and Expected Managerial Agency Problems," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 20(4), pages 1087-1112.
    17. Viral Acharya & Sergei A. Davydenko & Ilya A. Strebulaev, 2012. "Cash Holdings and Credit Risk," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(12), pages 3572-3609.
    18. Chen, Deqiu & Li, Sifei & Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Zou, Hong, 2014. "The effect of government quality on corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 384-400.
    19. Kang, Wensheng & Ratti, Ronald A. & Vespignani, Joaquin L., 2017. "Oil price shocks and policy uncertainty: New evidence on the effects of US and non-US oil production," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 536-546.
    20. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    21. Opler, Tim & Pinkowitz, Lee & Stulz, Rene & Williamson, Rohan, 1999. "The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 3-46, April.
    22. Dittmar, Amy & Mahrt-Smith, Jan, 2007. "Corporate governance and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 599-634, March.
    23. Ben S. Bernanke, 1983. "Irreversibility, Uncertainty, and Cyclical Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(1), pages 85-106.
    24. Palazzo, Berardino, 2012. "Cash holdings, risk, and expected returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 162-185.
    25. Xu, Pisun (Tracy), 2013. "Managerial incentives and a firm's cash flow sensitivities," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 80-96.
    26. Subramaniam, Venkat & Tang, Tony T. & Yue, Heng & Zhou, Xin, 2011. "Firm structure and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 759-773, June.
    27. Chen, Shenglan & Lin, Bingxuan & Lu, Rui & Zhang, Ting, 2015. "Controlling shareholders’ incentives and executive pay-for-performance sensitivity: Evidence from the split share structure reform in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 147-160.
    28. 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.
    29. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    30. Henriques, Irene & Sadorsky, Perry, 2011. "The effect of oil price volatility on strategic investment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 79-87, January.
    31. Friberg, Richard & Seiler, Thomas, 2017. "Risk and ambiguity in 10-Ks: An examination of cash holding and derivatives use," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 608-631.
    32. Xie, Xiaoying & Wang, Yuling & Zhao, Guiqin & Lu, Weili, 2017. "Cash holdings between public and private insurers ‒ a partial adjustment approach," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 80-97.
    33. Anderson, Ronald W. & Hamadi, Malika, 2016. "Cash holding and control-oriented finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 410-425.
    34. Awartani, Basel & Aktham, Maghyereh & Cherif, Guermat, 2016. "The connectedness between crude oil and financial markets: Evidence from implied volatility indices," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 56-69.
    35. He, Wei & Kyaw, NyoNyo A., 2018. "Capital structure adjustment behaviors of Chinese listed companies: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 14-22.
    36. Podolski, Edward J. & Truong, Cameron & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2016. "Cash holdings and bond returns around takeovers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-11.
    37. Bhuiyan, Md Borhan Uddin & Hooks, Jill, 2019. "Cash holding and over-investment behavior in firms with problem directors," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 35-51.
    38. Mercatanti, Andrea & Mäkinen, Taneli & Silvestrini, Andrea, 2019. "The role of financial factors for European corporate investment," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 246-258.
    39. 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.
    40. Xu, Nianhang & Chen, Qinyuan & Xu, Yan & Chan, Kam C., 2016. "Political uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 276-295.
    41. Park, Jungwook & Ratti, Ronald A., 2008. "Oil price shocks and stock markets in the U.S. and 13 European countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2587-2608, September.
    42. Bigelli, Marco & Sánchez-Vidal, Javier, 2012. "Cash holdings in private firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 26-35.
    43. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Tran, Vuong Thao & Nguyen, Dat Thanh, 2019. "Crude oil price uncertainty and corporate investment: New global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 54-65.
    44. Kuan, Tsung-Han & Li, Chu-Shiu & Liu, Chwen-Chi, 2012. "Corporate governance and cash holdings: A quantile regression approach," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 303-314.
    45. Sadorsky, Perry, 2008. "Assessing the impact of oil prices on firms of different sizes: Its tough being in the middle," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3854-3861, October.
    46. Ran Duchin, 2010. "Cash Holdings and Corporate Diversification," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(3), pages 955-992, June.
    47. Jarrad Harford & Sattar A. Mansi & William F. Maxwell, 2012. "Corporate Governance and Firm Cash Holdings in the U.S," Springer Books, in: Sabri Boubaker & Bang Dang Nguyen & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance, edition 127, pages 107-138, Springer.
    48. Farinha, Jorge & Mateus, Cesario & Soares, Nuno, 2018. "Cash holdings and earnings quality: evidence from the Main and Alternative UK markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 238-252.
    49. Liu, Yixin & Mauer, David C. & Zhang, Yilei, 2014. "Firm cash holdings and CEO inside debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 83-100.
    50. Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong), 2016. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 412-430.
    51. Huang, Pinghsun & Guo, Jun & Ma, Tongshu & Zhang, Yan, 2015. "Does the value of cash holdings deteriorate or improve with material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 30-45.
    52. Gao, Ning & Mohamed, Abdulkadir, 2018. "Cash-rich acquirers do not always make bad acquisitions: New evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 243-264.
    53. Im, Hyun Joong & Park, Heungju & Zhao, Gege, 2017. "Uncertainty and the value of cash holdings," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 43-48.
    54. Demir, Ender & Ersan, Oguz, 2017. "Economic policy uncertainty and cash holdings: Evidence from BRIC countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 189-200.
    55. Anderson, Ronald W. & Hamadi, Malika, 2016. "Cash holding and control-oriented finance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68339, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    56. Hou, Wenxuan & Kuo, Jing-Ming & Lee, Edward, 2012. "The impact of state ownership on share price informativeness: The case of the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 248-261.
    57. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2015. "Cash holdings and employee welfare," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 53-70.
    58. Soojin Jo, 2014. "The Effects of Oil Price Uncertainty on Global Real Economic Activity," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(6), pages 1113-1135, September.
    59. Chen, Yangyang & Dou, Paul Y. & Rhee, S. Ghon & Truong, Cameron & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2015. "National culture and corporate cash holdings around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-18.
    60. Megginson, William L. & Ullah, Barkat & Wei, Zuobao, 2014. "State ownership, soft-budget constraints, and cash holdings: Evidence from China’s privatized firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 276-291.
    61. Thakur, Bhanu Pratap Singh & Kannadhasan, M., 2019. "Corruption and cash holdings: Evidence from emerging market economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-17.
    62. Tong, Zhenxu, 2011. "Firm diversification and the value of corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 741-758, June.
    63. Liu, Chunyan & Uchida, Konari & Yang, Yufeng, 2014. "Controlling shareholder, split-share structure reform and cash dividend payments in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 339-357.
    64. Cong, Rong-Gang & Wei, Yi-Ming & Jiao, Jian-Lin & Fan, Ying, 2008. "Relationships between oil price shocks and stock market: An empirical analysis from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3544-3553, September.
    65. Feng, Harry & Rao, Ramesh P., 2018. "Cash holdings and CEO risk incentive compensation: Effect of CEO risk aversion," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 162-176.
    66. Jarrad Harford, 1999. "Corporate Cash Reserves and Acquisitions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(6), pages 1969-1997, December.
    67. Liu, Ming-Lei & Ji, Qiang & Fan, Ying, 2013. "How does oil market uncertainty interact with other markets? An empirical analysis of implied volatility index," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 860-868.
    68. Dudley, Evan & Zhang, Ning, 2016. "Trust and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 363-387.
    69. Maghyereh, Aktham I. & Awartani, Basel & Bouri, Elie, 2016. "The directional volatility connectedness between crude oil and equity markets: New evidence from implied volatility indexes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 78-93.
    70. He, Zhaozhao & Wintoki, M. Babajide, 2016. "The cost of innovation: R&D and high cash holdings in U.S. firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 280-303.
    71. Weichieh Su & Mike W. Peng & Weiqiang Tan & Yan-Leung Cheung, 2016. "The Signaling Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 479-491, March.
    72. Liu, Qigui & Tian, Gary, 2012. "Controlling shareholder, expropriations and firm's leverage decision: Evidence from Chinese Non-tradable share reform," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 782-803.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Xiang Zhang & Zongyi Zhang & Han Zhou, 2023. "Grabbing hand or financial constraint mitigation effect? A reexamination of the relationship between institutional development and cash holdings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 631-655, March.
    2. Zhang, Xiang & Zhan, Feng & Liu, Bin, 2023. "Institutional development, political uncertainty, and corporate cash holdings: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    3. Cui, Di & Ding, Mingfa & Han, Yikai & Suardi, Sandy, 2022. "Foreign shareholders, relative foreign policy uncertainty and corporate cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Jan Felix Weidemann, 2018. "A state-of-the-art review of corporate cash holding research," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(6), pages 765-797, August.
    5. Amess, Kevin & Banerji, Sanjay & Lampousis, Athanasios, 2015. "Corporate cash holdings: Causes and consequences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 421-433.
    6. El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Mansi, Sattar & Wang, He (Helen), 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty, institutional environments, and corporate cash holdings," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Hou, Canran & Liu, Huan, 2020. "Foreign residency rights and corporate cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Ahrends, Meike & Drobetz, Wolfgang & Puhan, Tatjana Xenia, 2018. "Cyclicality of growth opportunities and the value of cash holdings," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 74-96.
    9. Hsuan-Chu Lin & She-Chih Chiu, 2017. "Tradeoff on corporate cash holdings: a theoretical and empirical analysis," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 727-763, October.
    10. Alomran, Abdulaziz Ahmed & Alsubaiei, Bader Jawid, 2022. "Oil price uncertainty and corporate cash holdings: Global evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Tan, Jianhua & Chen, Tao & Zhang, Peng & Chan, Kam C., 2021. "Environmental rule enforcement and cash holdings: Evidence from a natural experiment," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    12. Saleh F. A. Khatib & Dewi Fariha Abdullah & Ernie Hendrawaty & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2022. "A bibliometric analysis of cash holdings literature: current status, development, and agenda for future research," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 707-744, September.
    13. Zhang, Xiang & Zhou, Han, 2022. "The effect of market competition on corporate cash holdings: An analysis of corporate innovation and financial constraint," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Marwick, Alex & Hasan, Mostafa Monzur & Luo, Tianpei, 2020. "Organization capital and corporate cash holdings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    15. Abdul Rashid & Maryam Ashfaq, 2017. "Financial Constraints And Corporate Cash Holdings: An Empirical Analysis Using Firm Level Data," Annals of Financial Economics (AFE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(02), pages 1-26, June.
    16. Efstathios Magerakis & Konstantinos Gkillas & Athanasios Tsagkanos & Costas Siriopoulos, 2020. "Firm Size Does Matter: New Evidence on the Determinants of Cash Holdings," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-35, July.
    17. Alam, Md Samsul & Safiullah, Md & Islam, Md Shahidul, 2022. "Cash-rich firms and carbon emissions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    18. Maurizio Rocca & Raffaele Staglianò & Tiziana Rocca & Alfio Cariola & Ekaterina Skatova, 2019. "Cash holdings and SME performance in Europe: the role of firm-specific and macroeconomic moderators," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1051-1078, December.
    19. Li, Xiafei & Luo, Di, 2020. "Increase in cash holdings of U.S. firms: The role of healthcare and technology industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 286-298.
    20. Chen, Hanwen & Yang, Daoguang & Zhang, Joseph H. & Zhou, Haiyan, 2020. "Internal controls, risk management, and cash holdings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oil price uncertainty; Cash holdings; Chinese stock market; Nonlinear relationship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy

    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:eee:eneeco:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0140988320300712. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    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.