Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Shariah-compliant status and the presence of information asymmetry on investors’ demand for initial public offerings (IPOs) in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The data regarding 260 IPOs dated for a duration of 11 years were acquired from the websites of Bursa Malaysia and Malaysian Issuing House. In evaluating the association between IPO oversubscription and the independent variables in this study, multivariate and quantile regression analyses were implemented. Findings It was found that Shariah-compliant status (DSHARIAH) had a significant positive relationship with IPO oversubscription. With this, it was indicated that Shariah-compliant status gains investors’ interests in subscribing to IPOs as these shares could be distributed to a wider group of investors. In the case of the proxies of information asymmetry, although firm size posed significant effects on IPO oversubscription, the effects were negative. Meanwhile, institutional investors posed significant positive effects on IPO oversubscription. Furthermore, it was indicated from the negative effects of firm size that less subscription is received by large firms which are perceived to possess lower information asymmetry from the investors. This is owing to the less underpricing provided by the issuers for their IPOs. However, it was indicated from the significant positive association between institutional investors and IPO oversubscription that the participation in the IPO among institutional investors would enhance the enthusiasm of investors for a specific stock and increase the probability of IPO oversubscription. With this, the winner’s curse hypothesis was supported. Research limitations/implications It is recommended that future studies investigate the compliance aspect, specifically the financial and nonfinancial aspects which may affect investors’ decision-making process for their investment. Practical implications With the availability of this study’s indicators in the prospectus, the findings of this study have provided useful insights for an issuer and underwriter to ensure a good subscription of its issuance. Social implications The findings of this study have provided further comprehension to investors regarding the essential information found in the prospectus during the decision-making process done for IPO subscription. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first articles which have proven the effects of Shariah-compliant status and the presence of information asymmetry on IPO investors’ demand.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Shariah-compliant status on oversubscription of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Malaysia. It is believed that the Shariah-compliant status serves as a platform that sends a credible signal to investors which could possibly explain the IPO oversubscription anomaly. Design/methodology/approach This study used a multivariate and quantile regression model which involved 252 IPOs listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2005 to 2015. Findings The results show a significant positive relationship between Shariah-compliant status and oversubscription ratio, which suggests that companies with Shariah status could draw the attention of the investors. Strict guidelines and permissible elements of Shariah-compliant are considered agreeable and amicable by the investors. Research limitations/implications Future studies should look into financial ratio benchmark (cash and debt) for determining Shariah-compliant status to enhance the understanding of oversubscription of IPOs in Malaysia. Practical implications This study offers practical understanding to the issuers and underwriters on the factors that should be considered in assuring a good early performance of their issuance. Therefore, it will benefit the issuers and underwriters in managing and planning the IPO process carefully. Social implications The results of this study provide a new insight for investors regarding important information found in the prospectus when making the decisions to subscribe to IPOs. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to provide an empirical evidence of the impact of Shariah-compliant status on oversubscription in the IPO market.

PurposePerformance assessment of microfinance institutions (MFIs) has long been a question of considerable research interest. The dual goals – financial performance and social performance of MFIs widely studied yet remain unsolved in the existing literature. To assess the knowledge structure of research in this area and to aid future research, we review the literature with bibliometric analysis.Design/methodology/approachOur study has used bibliographic data of 1,252 scientific documents indexed in the Scopus database from 1995 to 2020 (June 05). We have used the “bibliometrix” package in R language to analyze the data and illustrate the findings.FindingsWe find that there has been an increasing trend in publications, especially from 2006 onwards. Various bibliometric indicators allow us to follow the progression of knowledge along with identifying the most contributing and impactful authors, publication sources, institutions and countries. We illustrate the major research themes and identify that “poverty alleviations”, “group lending” and “credit scoring” are the major emerging and specialized themes besides the basic research evolved around “microfinance” or “microcredit”. Our further analysis of thematic evolution over different time frames reveals that “financial performance” aspect is getting more attention in recent times in evaluating the performance of MFIs.Originality/valueThe insights of knowledge accumulated from our bibliometric review and thematic analysis provide researchers with an efficient comprehension of the advancement of the research on microfinance performance and offer avenues for future scientific endeavors.

PurposeThe present study investigated the influence of country-level institutional quality on IPO initial return using World Bank Governance indices.Design/methodology/approachThis study analysed 84 IPOs listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange between 2000 and 2017 using cross-sectional data. The impact of country-level institutional quality on IPO initial returns was examined using ordinary least square, robust least square, stepwise least square and quantile regression.FindingsEmpirically, the values of political stability, government effectiveness and regulatory quality were positively significant, whereas rule of law and control of corruption were negatively significant in explaining the intensity of IPO initial return. The results also show the presence of significant risk in the market. Hence, investors were compensated with higher initial returns for weak country-level institutional quality. The results also reveal that improving country-level institutional quality would improve the financial market transparency, thereby reducing IPO initial returns.Originality/valueNo studies have been conducted regarding the influence of country-level institutional quality on IPO initial return in Pakistan. This study is a pioneering study that seeks to give insights into the link between these variables in the context of Pakistan.