ABSTRACT
This study looks at how cash holding affects firm performance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. Using a differences-in-differences (DiD) approach, this study compares firms’ performance before and after the COVID-19 pandemic as a function of their cash holdings one year prior to the crisis. As a result of the pandemic, firms face a significant negative shock. While firms with a large cash reserve will perform better in terms of investment and financing during a pandemic, firms with more cash will reduce their dividend payment ratio more than firms with less cash. This study also discovered that firms with more cash have higher profitability but lower asset growth than firms with less cash. This paper focuses on the risk management function of corporate cash holdings, which is critical in mitigating market volatility. This is the first study to look at how cash holdings affected a broader range of corporate performance indicators during Indonesia's COVID-19 crisis.
