Corporate Governance, Ownership Structure and Investment Structure: Evidence from GCC Countries

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of corporate governance mechanisms and ownership structure on the investment structure of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) non-financial companies. The empirical results show that the concentration of shareholding, foreign shareholding, and governmental shareholding are significantly positively associated with the firm's investment structure. This suggests that the higher the non-local ownership in GCC companies the higher the fixed assets investments, and, the higher the percent of governmental ownership the higher their investments in assets. Additionally, the results indicate that board independence, the presence of female directors, and the frequency of board meetings, are significantly associated with the firm's investment structure. The results suggest that higher board independence would enhance the capability of the firm to increase its rate of investment in assets. Also, the results show that audit committee independence and the frequency of its meetings are significantly positively associated with investment structure.