Corporate cash holding and the value of cash

2003年到2013年間，台灣上市公司的現金持有比率增加為近2倍。本研究旨在探究台灣上市公司現金持有比率增加的原因和現金流向對公司價值產生的影響。本研究使用結構方程模型中的路徑分析討論現金持有的原因:現金流量風險、公司規模大小和公司的淨營運資金對公司現金持有的影響。同時，本研究探討，下一個年度的研發費用增加、資本支出增加或是長期投資增加是否會讓公司在當年度增加現金持有。最後，公司為了未來研發費用、資本支出和長期投資增加現金是否能夠提升公司的價值。 研究結果發現公司如果有高的現金流量風險，公司會持有較多的現金。公司若有大規模的資產或是較多的淨營運資金，則公司就不需要保有高比例的現金。公司的確會為了未來的資本支出需要增加當年度現金。但是，無論為了研發費用、資本支出或是長期投資增加當期現金，都無法增加公司的價值。During 2003 to 2013, public firms in Taiwan double their cash holding. This study is purposed to find out why public firms in Taiwan increase their cash holding and whether this increase benefit to their firm value. This research usesthe path analysis to capture the relationship between cash volatility, firm size, net working capital and cash holding. Meanwhile, this study specifies whether corporate will increase current cash holding for their future R&D expense increase, capex increase and investment increase, and how these increase benefit to the future firm value. The result indicates corporate with high cash flow volatility will increase their cash holding. And firms with more asset and net working capital hold less cash. Corporate do increase their cash holding for the future capex increase while none of cash holding increase for R&D expense, capex increase, investment increase will influence the firm value