IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/sefpps/v30y2013i2p108-117.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigation of optimal capital structure in Malaysia: a panel threshold estimation

Author

Listed:
  • Abd Halim Ahmad
  • Nur Adiana Hiau Abdullah

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of leverage on Malaysian listed firms' value and the optimal level of debt at which a firm could maximize its value. Design/methodology/approach - The authors employ an advanced panel threshold regression estimation developed in 1999 by Hansen that will indicate whether there are positive and negative impacts of leverage on firm value. This estimation procedure has the advantage of quantifying the threshold level of debt as compared to thead hocclassification procedure of splitting the sample. Findings - The results show that debt is only pertinent to the firm value up to a threshold level of 64.33 per cent. Additional debt beyond the threshold level does not add to a firm's value. The appropriate level of debt should be applied, which would thus maximize the firm and stockholders' value. Originality/value - To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to look at this issue for Malaysian listed firms. The findings from this paper may provide a critical analysis of the usage of debt in firms' capital structure. An excessive level of debt could lead to a debt overhang situation and insolvency at the microeconomic firm level; this could eventually could cause vulnerability in financial systems and thus lead to the financial catastrophes.

Suggested Citation

  • Abd Halim Ahmad & Nur Adiana Hiau Abdullah, 2013. "Investigation of optimal capital structure in Malaysia: a panel threshold estimation," Studies in Economics and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(2), pages 108-117, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:sefpps:v:30:y:2013:i:2:p:108-117
    DOI: 10.1108/10867371311325426
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/10867371311325426/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/10867371311325426/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/10867371311325426?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. Nigel Driffield & Sarmistha Pal, 2010. "Evolution of capital structure in east Asia—corporate inertia or endeavours?," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 173(1), pages 1-29, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Simpson, W. Gary & Gleason, Anne E., 1999. "Board structure, ownership, and financial distress in banking firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 281-292, September.
    4. Hansen, Bruce E, 1996. "Inference When a Nuisance Parameter Is Not Identified under the Null Hypothesis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(2), pages 413-430, March.
    5. 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.
    6. Corsetti, Giancarlo & Pesenti, Paolo & Roubini, Nouriel, 1999. "What caused the Asian currency and financial crisis?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 305-373, October.
    7. Hansen, Bruce E., 1999. "Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: Estimation, testing, and inference," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 345-368, December.
    8. Friend, Irwin & Lang, Larry H P, 1988. " An Empirical Test of the Impact of Managerial Self-interest on Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(2), pages 271-281, June.
    9. 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.
    10. Berger, Allen N. & Bonaccorsi di Patti, Emilia, 2006. "Capital structure and firm performance: A new approach to testing agency theory and an application to the banking industry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 1065-1102, April.
    11. Paul Krugman, 1999. "Balance Sheets, the Transfer Problem, and Financial Crises," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 6(4), pages 459-472, November.
    12. Deesomsak, Rataporn & Paudyal, Krishna & Pescetto, Gioia, 2004. "The determinants of capital structure: evidence from the Asia Pacific region," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(4-5), pages 387-405.
    13. Laurence Booth & Varouj Aivazian & Asli Demirguc‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2001. "Capital Structures in Developing Countries," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 87-130, February.
    14. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    15. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-275, May.
    16. 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.
    17. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    18. 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.
    19. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    20. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2000. "Corporate Performance in the East Asian Financial Crisis," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 15(1), pages 23-46, February.
    21. Mak, Y.T. & Kusnadi, Yuanto, 2005. "Size really matters: Further evidence on the negative relationship between board size and firm value," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 301-318, June.
    22. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Chien-Chung Nieh & Hwey-Yun Yau & Wen-Chien Liu, 2008. "Investigation of Target Capital Structure for Electronic Listed Firms in Taiwan," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 75-87, July.
    24. Krishnan, V. Sivarama & Moyer, R. Charles, 1997. "Performance, capital structure and home country: An analysis of Asian corporations," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 129-143.
    25. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    26. Petersen, Mitchell A & Rajan, Raghuram G, 1994. "The Benefits of Lending Relationships: Evidence from Small Business Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-37, March.
    27. Megumi Suto, 2003. "Capital Structure and Investment Behaviour of Malaysian Firms in the 1990s: a study of corporate governance before the crisis," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(1), pages 25-39, January.
    28. Alves, Paulo F. Pereira & Ferreira, Miguel A., 2011. "Capital structure and law around the world," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 119-150, July.
    29. Demirguc-Kunt, Ash & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 1996. "Stock Market Development and Financing Choices of Firms," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 10(2), pages 341-369, May.
    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. Nguyen Thanh Cuong, 2014. "Threshold Effect of Capital Structure on Firm Value: Evidence from Seafood Processing Enterprises in the South Central Region of Vietnam," International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies, Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 3(3), pages 14-29, July.

    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. Raja Zekri Ben Hamouda & Nessrine Hamzaoui & Faouzi Jilani, 2023. "Capital Structure Determinants: New Evidence from the MENA Region Countries," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(1), pages 144-163, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Ramli, Nur Ainna & Latan, Hengky & Solovida, Grace T., 2019. "Determinants of capital structure and firm financial performance—A PLS-SEM approach: Evidence from Malaysia and Indonesia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 148-160.
    4. Feng-Li Lin & Tsangyao Chang, 2011. "Does debt affect firm value in Taiwan? A panel threshold regression analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 117-128.
    5. Chakraborty, Indrani, 2010. "Capital structure in an emerging stock market: The case of India," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 295-314, September.
    6. Mário Santos & António Moreira & Elisabete Vieira, 2014. "Ownership concentration, contestability, family firms, and capital structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1063-1107, November.
    7. Miguel Acedo-Ramírez & Juan Ayala-Calvo & José Rodríguez-Osés, 2013. "Capital structure of small companies in the Spanish footwear sector: relevant factors," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(2), pages 155-173, June.
    8. Kuang Kuang Deng & Siu Kei Wong & Kwong Wing Chau, 2018. "Institutions and Capital Structure: The Case of Chinese Property Firms," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 352-385, April.
    9. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    10. 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.
    11. Prasetyantoko, Agustinus, 2008. "Financing Policies and Firm Vulnerability in Indonesia," MPRA Paper 6533, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. S. Buvanendra & P. Sridharan & S. Thiyagarajan, 2016. "Role of Country-specific Factors on Capital Structure Decision—Evidence from Sri Lankan Listed Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 17(3), pages 582-593, June.
    15. Omer Bagais & Khaled Aljaaidi & Abdulaziz Alothman, 2021. "An Empirical Investigation of the Associations of Short and Long Debt Policies with Economic Values of Energy Sector," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 249-254.
    16. 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.
    17. Maurizio La Rocca & Tiziana La Rocca & Alfio Cariola, 2011. "Capital Structure Decisions During a Firm's Life Cycle," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 107-130, July.
    18. Firano, Zakaria & Filali adib, Fatine, 2022. "Optimal Capital structure and financial stability," MPRA Paper 115790, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2022.
    19. 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.
    20. Joliet, Robert & Muller, Aline, 2013. "Capital structure effects of international expansion," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 375-393.

    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:eme:sefpps:v:30:y:2013:i:2:p:108-117. 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: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.