Abstract:
I investigate the ownership structure and investment-cash flow sensitivity of Thai listed firms
over a period of 2001-2008. The results are strongly supported by the agency costs of free
cash flow. The presence of family owners as the largest shareholder reduces the sensitivity of
investment and cash flow. The ownership levels of family shareholders affect the investment-cash
flow sensitivity in an S-shaped relation, supporting the interest alignment and
entrenchment effects. In addition, the investment of domestic financial institution-owned
firms is less sensitive to internal cash flow, implying that domestic financial institution could
alleviate asymmetric information problems between firms and capital markets. The
government-owned, foreign investor-owned and foreign institution-owned firms have higher
investment-cash flow sensitivity. Moreover, there is no evidence showing the potential
overinvestment problems of firms in Thailand after the 1997 financial crisis.