This study investigates the influence of Shariah compliance status on cash holding levels and the speed of adjustment of non-financial listed firms in six Gulf Cooperation countries from 2005 to 2016. The results show that Shariah compliance status has a significant effect on firms’ cash holding decisions. Shariah-compliant firms have significantly higher cash holding levels than non-Shariah-compliant firms. Further, Shariah-compliant firms adjust more quickly towards their target cash holdings than their conventional counterparts. In our view, Shariah-compliant firms are subject to multiple restrictions that limit their external financing channels. Therefore, holding larger cash reserves is important as it helps gain from the transaction cost motive of holding cash. The findings of this study have important implications for regulators, investors and managers. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to compare the effect of Shariah compliance on firms’ cash holdings and the speed of adjustment towards the trade-off theory’s optimal cash holding target.

本研究调查了伊斯兰教义遵守状况对六个海湾合作国家从2005年至2016年现金持有水平的影响以及非金融上市公司调整的速度。结果表明，伊斯兰教义遵守状况对公司的现金持有量有重大影响决定。符合伊斯兰教法的公司比不符合伊斯兰教义的公司拥有更高的现金持有量。此外，符合回教律法的公司比其传统同行更快地调整其目标现金持有量。我们认为，符合伊斯兰教法的公司受到多种限制，从而限制了其外部融资渠道。因此，持有更大的现金储备很重要，因为它有助于从持有现金的交易成本动机中获得收益。这项研究的发现对监管机构具有重要意义，投资者和经理。据我们所知，本研究是第一个比较伊斯兰教法合规对公司现金持有量的影响以及朝着权衡理论的最佳现金持有量目标调整的速度。