Factors influencing the individual investors of Bangladesh to opt for investment in s _ uk (cid:2) uk

Purpose – ThisstudyaimstoidentifythefactorsthatinfluencethewillingnessofBangladeshiretailinvestors to invest in s _ uk (cid:2) uk . Design/methodology/approach – The authors surveyed Bangladeshi retail investors using a structured questionnaire to understand their perspectives on potential investment in s _ uk (cid:2) uk . The authors considered the behavioral aspects of retail investors and the desired s _ uk (cid:2) uk features to analyze the demand side. Factors and regression analyses were performed to identify the persuading factors. Findings – The results indicate that investor awareness is a fundamental factor in potential investments in s _ uk (cid:2) uk . Investors perceive the security represented by government and third-party guarantees as a persuasive featureof s _ uk (cid:2) uk .Thetradabilityandtenorof s _ uk (cid:2) uk alsoaffecttheinvestmentintention.Shar (cid:2) ı ʿ ahconsciousness of the investors also plays a significant role in their investment decisions. Researchlimitations/implications – Onelimitationofthisstudyisthatitincorporatespotentialindividual investors only, and precludes institutional investors. In the future, there is scope for research to explore the demand factors impacting institutional investors of s _ uk (cid:2) uk in Bangladesh. Practical implications – The authors expect that the study will aid policymakers and s _ uk (cid:2) uk issuers in crafting strategies to cater to the needs of Bangladeshi retail investors. Originality/value – This study is the earliest research conducted in Bangladesh to determine the factors impacting the willingness of individual investors to make their potential investments in s _ uk (cid:2) uk . To the best of the authors ’ knowledge, no study has analyzed the desired s _ uk (cid:2) uk features from the perspective of Bangladeshi retail investors.


Introduction
Fostering social equity through the establishment of justice in economic transactions is the heart of Islamic financial rulings.To uproot unfairness in financial contracts, Islam inspires risk-sharing as well as benevolent charity and bans interest (Qur'an 2:275-276).Unjust predetermined interests impede equity as they are charged irrespective of the actual accomplishment of an investment (Iqbal and Mirakhor, 2011).This divine proscription on dealing in interest marks conventional bonds and investment schemes offered by conventional banks as Shar ı ʿah non-compliant.
In a country with 91.04% Muslim population (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2022), there is a paucity of Shar ı ʿah-compliant investment opportunities in the Bangladesh financial market.Furthermore, investors do not have plenty of opportunities to diversify their investments because of the scarcity of asset classes in Bangladesh's capital markets.

Bangladeshi retail investors to opt for s _ uk uk
The capital market of the country is equity-centric, providing retail investors with ordinary shares of around 350 companies, 36 mutual funds, 08 debentures and 10 corporate bonds as investment opportunities as of May 12, 2023(Dhaka Stock Exchange, 2023a).The available alternatives are even less for investors demanding Shar ı ʿah-compliant investment opportunities.There are 131 Shar ı ʿah-indexed equities (Chittagong Stock Exchange, 2023), five Islamic mutual funds, four mud _ arabah bonds and one s _ uk uk (Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd, 2023b, c).On the other hand, in the money market, Bangladesh has only ten Islamic banks out of 61 scheduled banks (Bangladesh Bank, 2023)).Thus, Muslim investors in this country have fewer opportunities to diversify their portfolios.s _ uk uk, an Islamic capital market instrument, can widen the scope for Shar ı ʿah-compliant investment for Muslim investors.Investors can also resort to s _ uk uk to diversify their portfolios (Hassan et al., 2018).
AAOIFI, as an international Shar ı ʿah standard producer organization, defines s _ uk uk as, "s _ uk uk are certificates of equal value representing undivided shares in ownership of tangible assets, usufruct and services, or (in the ownership of) the assets of particular projects or special investment activity" (AAOIFI, 2017).In recent years, the adoption and issuance of s _ uk uk have grown worldwide owing to the solidification of the Shar ı ʿah-compliant long-term market (Oseni and Hassan, 2014).Sovereigns and corporations of many nations including Malaysia, Indonesia, Bahrain, Ireland, Singapore, United Kingdom, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Nigeria, Oman and Turkey have been devising s _ uk uk as a preferred fund-raising instrument since its insertion by major index providers.In 2021, the global s _ uk uk market witnessed a record-breaking annual issuance of USD 188 billion (International Islamic Financial Market, 2022).
The s _ uk uk market in Bangladesh is nascent.The capital market regulator initiated the creation of legislation for s _ uk uk by publishing the "Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Investment s _ uk uk) Rules, 2019" (Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, 2019).Later, for the issuance of sovereign s _ uk uk, the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of Bangladesh set forth the "Bangladesh Government Investment s _ uk uk Guideline, 2020" (Finance Division, Ministry of Finance, 2020).With a view to funding a project titled "Safe Water Supply for the Whole Country" and catering to the demand of investors for Shar ı ʿah-compliant investment opportunities, the Bangladesh government issued its first sovereign s _ uk uk in December 2020 (Bangladesh Bank, 2020).In addition, Beximco broke the ground as a private issuer to launch the first corporate s _ uk uk in the country to deploy funds raised in the solar power project (Chittagong Stock Exchange, 2021).
This study identifies disparate factors that stimulate Bangladeshi retail investors to make prospective investments in s _ uk uk.To popularize s _ uk uk among individual investors, it is crucial for issuers to understand prospective investors' perceptions.Unless issuers anticipate and cater to potential investors' needs, they will not be able to attract sufficient investors, which may lead to undersubscription of the issue.Hence, this study examines Bangladeshi individual investors' perspectives on their investment willingness in s _ uk uk.In Bangladesh, only a few studies have been conducted on s _ uk uk.Some studies have discussed the prospects and challenges of introducing the new instrument (Uddin et al., 2018;Rahman et al., 2021;Ullah et al., 2022).There are several studies on the establishment of a legal framework for s _ uk uk in Bangladesh (Hasan, 2022;Rahman et al., 2022).Ashraf (2023) recently interpreted the relationship between religious intention and actual buying behavior in s _ uk uk.However, there is a research gap regarding the features of s _ uk uk that motivate investors to purchase them.The contributions of this study are as follows: First, this is the first study to examine the factors, including both investors' behavioral aspects and s _ uk uk features that stimulate Bangladeshi retail investors' willingness to purchase s _ uk uk.The considered behavioral aspects are -investor awareness and Shar ı ʿah conscious investment behavior.As s _ uk uk

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features this study incorporated guarantee, tradability, rating as well as desired return pattern and tenor.The factor 'socially responsible investment behavior" represents both the s _ uk uk feature and investors' behavior by incorporating the choice of s _ uk uk issuers to use the s _ uk uk fund in a socially responsible way and investors' appreciation toward the cause by expressing willingness to invest in this type of s _ uk uk.Second, our findings offer useful insights for regulators, policymakers and issuers in crafting effective strategies for a vibrant and fruitful s _ uk uk market.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows.After this brief precludes, a comprehensive review of related literature is presented in Section 2. Section 3 describes the methodology used in the study.Section 4 describes the analysis and findings of the study.Section 5 discusses the results in comparison with previous studies and Section 6 concludes the paper.
As s _ uk uk is a new instrument in Bangladesh, it is necessary to identify the variables that spur investor demand.Hence, this study endeavors to identify the factors that influence Bangladeshi investors' potential investment in s _ uk uk.Extrapolated from previous studies, the variables considered for testing in this study were awareness, Shar ı ʿah consciousness investment behavior, return patterns, guarantees, tenors, tradability, ratings and economic contribution.

Literature review and hypothesis development
In recent years, a number of studies based on different nations have attempted to identify the factors influencing the investment intentions in s _ uk uk.In Qatar, Warsame and Ireri (2016) using the 'Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model", analyzed the desirability of s _ uk uk and discovered that attitude toward s _ uk uk, behavior factors such as customer service quality and familiarity with unique features of s _ uk uk positively impacted the intention to purchase it.Awn and Azam (2020), also employed TPB and found that in Libya, there are significant positive relationship between s _ uk uk investment decisions and determinants such as awareness about s _ uk uk, perceived control and compliance to Shar ı ʿah principles.In the UAE, investors recognize the attributes of s _ uk uk, Shar ı ʿah issues, predicted returns and accessibility of information as significant factors of investment decisions in s _ uk uk (Duqi and Al-Tamimi, 2019).Meanwhile, Sukmana (2020) identified that profitability and safety are the drivers for attaining the popularity of the retail Government s _ uk uk in Indonesia.In Pakistan, Khan et al. (2020), using both TPB and social cognitive theory (SCT), found a significant positive impact of the compatibility of s _ uk uk with the lifestyle of investors, social influence, external influence from media and press, spiritual motivation on the investors' behavioral intentions to purchase s _ uk uk.In Bangladesh, a limited number of studies have been conducted on s _ uk uk.While most of the conducted studies in this country concentrated on the prospects and challenges of the new instrument, one research has been carried out on the purchase intention of s _ uk uk.Ashraf (2023) surveyed BBA and MBA students of a private university and used the "Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)" to focus on behavioral aspects and investigate the influence of Islamic moral values, internal factors such as self-efficacy, external factors like social pressure and empathy and attitudes on the buying behavior of potential s _ uk uk investors.However, in order to understand the demand of potential s _ uk uk investors, it is imperative to consider the desired features of s _ uk uk.Hence, we have endeavored to fill this gap by Bangladeshi retail investors to opt for s _ uk uk conducting a study on the factors influencing the willingness of potential individual investors in Bangladesh to invest in s _ uk uk, considering both the behavioral aspects and desired s _ uk uk attributes.We have surveyed capital market investors participating in trainings organized by BICM, the Government funded institution to impart capital market related training in Bangladesh.Our research considers various behavioral factors such as awareness, Shar ı ʿah consciousness and socially responsible investment behavior.Furthermore, we have incorporated the desired features of s _ uk uk, including guarantees, tradability, tenor, credit rating and return patterns, in order to comprehend the perspective of prospective individual investors in Bangladesh.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has investigated the impact of both behavioral factors and desired s _ uk uk features on the willingness of Bangladeshi individual investors to invest in s _ uk uk.We conducted a review of previous literature in the field of Islamic finance to extrapolate the variables for our research.

Shar ı ʿah conscious investment behavior (SHCONIB)
Investment in s _ uk uk delivers distinctive value for Shar ı ʿah compliance (Guermazi, 2020).Meticulous screening of assets and contract nature is mandatory before launching s _ uk uk to meet religious requirements (Cakir and Raei, 2007).Having religiously cognizant investors is crucial to the s _ uk uk market's success.Investors' consciousness can fetter the malpractice of compromising Shar ı ʿah requirements to incentivize issuers (Azmat et al., 2014).Signaling stringent Shar ı ʿah conformity by hiring reputed Shar ı ʿah scholars has a positive impact on issuers' stock prices (Godlewski et al., 2014).Although the popular contracts used for structuring s _ uk uk include mud _ arabah, mush arakah, mur abah _ ah, ij arah, salam and istis _ n a', scholars consider mud _ arabah and mush arakah as the classical mode for financing as they adhere to the risk-sharing principle of Islamic finance (Safari et al., 2014).In the UAE, investors stress conformity with Islamic principles when making investment decisions in s _ uk uk (Duqi and Al-Tamimi, 2019).According to Khan et al. (2020), investors' intention to invest in s _ uk uk in Pakistan is inspired by their religious sentiment, and religion acts as a moderator in the association between internal and external determinants and investment behavior.
In this study, we endeavored to investigate the potential influence of Shar ı ʿah Consciousness among prospective Bangladeshi individual investors on their willingness to invest in s _ uk uk The hypothesis tested is: H1. SHCONIB has a significant influence on Bangladeshi potential retail investors' willingness to invest in s _ uk uk.

Investor awareness (AWARE)
Awareness of Shar ı ʿah principles is imperative for a country's far-reaching embracement of Shar ı ʿah-compliant financial instruments (Hidayat et al., 2020).The disparity in the level of Shar ı ʿah awareness has been evident in several studies.In India, there is a lack of knowledge regarding Islamic finance terms, although Muslim respondents in the country are familiar with them (Faisal et al., 2012;Islam and Rahman, 2017).Conversely, in Malaysia, a country with resounding success in the field of Islamic finance, understanding Shar ı ʿah rule is a common phenomenon (Ganesan et al., 2020) Warsame andIreri (2016) found familiarity with the s _ uk uk features is an important determinant in shaping investment intentions in Qatar, irrespective of the religious background of the investors.Similarly, Khan et al. (2020) discovered that awareness about s _ uk uk created through media and press played a crucial role in positively influencing investment decisions in Pakistan.
In this research, we attempted to investigate whether awareness of Shar ı ʿah principles and s _ uk uk has an impact on the investment intention of potential retail s _ uk uk investors in Bangladesh.The hypothesis tested is: IES H2.AWARE has a significant influence on Bangladeshi potential retail investors' willingness to invest in s _ uk uk.
2.3 Security and liquidity (SNL) s _ uk uk investors are exposed to various risks, including default risk, rate of return risk and liquidity risk (Al-Sayed, 2013).Third-party guarantee is used to mitigate the default risk by ensuring the security of the invested amount (Alswaidan et al., 2017).Meanwhile, two variables related to liquidity risk of s _ uk uk are tradability (Razak et al., 2019) and tenor (Jamilah Abdul Jalil and Abdul Rahman, 2012;Rauf and Ibrahim, 2014).In this research, we included guarantees, tradability and tenor under the factor "Security and Liquidity (SNL)".
2.3.1 Guarantees.The benevolent and voluntary third-party guarantee, usually provided by the government to motivate investments within the nation, is a widespread method to safeguard the interest of investors in s _ uk uk.However, scholars opined in a contradictory manner regarding the permissibility of this phenomenon.The opponents of this issue view the guarantee of the capital as inconsistent with the notion of mud _ arabah contract.Their logic is if the principal in s _ uk uk al-mud _ arabah, s _ uk uk mush arakah, or even s _ uk uk al-ij arah is guaranteed, it will eventually lead to the practice of riba.Furthermore, providing government guarantee is discouraged by them as the government's treasury belongs to the entire community and should not be exposed to financial risks arising from ventures undertaken by specific individuals or entities (Al-Amine, 2008).Although there are opposing opinions among Islamic scholars regarding the acceptability of third-party guarantees in some s _ uk uk issues, advocates assert the absence of clear evidence impeding the act of providing guarantees in Shar ı ʿah.Hence, according to the proponents of s _ uk uk guarantee, third-party guarantors' financial and legal independence makes it permissible for a third party to offer this benefit without compensation (Alswaidan et al., 2017).As per AAOIFI, it is not permissible for the s _ uk uk issuer to guarantee any profit or compensation of investment loss of s _ uk uk holders, other than in case of any negligence from the issuer's end.However, it is permissible for an independent third party to undertake voluntarily, without taking any fees, to compensate for investment losses of s _ uk uk holders (AAOIFI, 2017).This guarantee has a positive impact on s _ uk uk's rating.Borhan and Ahmad (2018) commented that a guaranteed s _ uk uk ij arah or s _ uk uk mush arakah issued by a profit-making issuer is more likely to receive a better rating.Sukmana (2020) identified safety supported by government guarantees as a motivating feature of the retail government s _ uk uk in Indonesia.In this research, we have tried to comprehend whether potential individual investors of Bangladesh perceive security backed by government guarantee as a decisive s _ uk uk feature.

Tradability. s
_ uk uk investors are exposed to liquidity risk stemming from the impermissibility of trading of some s _ uk uk structures as well as insufficient trading of the tradable s _ uk uk.Thin trading leads to compromising of price while converting s _ uk uk to cash on an urgent basis (Bacha and Mirakhor, 2013).However, Alam et al. (2018) demonstrated that s _ uk uk is not riskier than conventional bonds in Malaysia, even though its tradability in the secondary market is not remarkable.He commented that, as the s _ uk uk market gains maturity and attracts more investors, its liquidity tends to enhance over time.
s _ uk uk's tradability in the secondary market provides investors with the opportunity to attain liquidity (Usmani, 2007;Razak et al., 2019).According to the Shari'ah standard 17 issued by AAOIFI in May 2003, depending on the nature of s _ uk uk, some are tradable in the secondary market and some are not permissible to trade (Safari et al., 2014).
Duqi and Al-Tamimi (2019) identified liquidity as an important factor attracting investors in the UAE.Similarly, Razak et al. (2019) commented, that in some markets, the inability to trade certain s _ uk uk is a cause for concern.In contrast, despite being non-tradable, S _ uk uk Prihatin (SP) was oversubscribed in Malaysia (Bin-Nashwan et al., 2022).

Bangladeshi retail investors to opt for s _ uk uk
In this study, we attempted to understand whether potential Bangladeshi individual investors desire the tradability of s _ uk uk in the secondary market.2.3.3Tenor.The rules regarding s _ uk uk do not restrict its maturity.The tenor of the s _ uk uk can be either short or long (Safari et al., 2014).S _ uk uk can also be perpetual (Ellias et al., 2016).These comments are consistent with the AAOIFI standard, which permits the issuance of short-term, medium-term, or long-term s _ uk uk.It is also permissible to issue s _ uk uk without mentioning the tenor if the nature of the underlying contract allows it (AAOIFI, 2017).
Tenor may impact the choice of s _ uk uk investment.Jamilah Abdul Jalil and Abdul Rahman (2012) compared the profitability of ij arah s _ uk uk and mush arakah munt aqishah s _ uk uk for different tenors.They found in the long term, Ij arah is a more suitable investment alternative for investors, while in the short term, mush arakah munt aqishah performed better.
Duqi and Al-Tamimi ( 2019), based on survey responses, commented five to nine years to be the favorite tenor of UAE s _ uk uk investors (30.1%).Investors tend to favor a shorter maturity period to mitigate the liquidity risk (Rauf and Ibrahim, 2014).The reflection of this finding can be observed in the case of oversubscribed S _ uk uk Prihatin (SP) in Malaysia with a short tenor of about one year only (Bin-Nashwan et al., 2022).
Our study includes the tenor preference as a variable to better understand potential retail investors' demand.We also attempt to identify whether the tenor of s _ uk uk is important in shaping prospective investment decisions in Bangladesh.
Incorporating above mentioned three variables, for the construct SNL, the developed hypothesis is: H3. SNL has a significant influence on Bangladeshi potential retail investors' willingness to invest in s _ uk uk.

Socially responsible investment behavior (SRIB)
This construct incorporated two aspects of investors: preferring investment alternatives leading economic development and attaining social equity.2.4.1 Economic development.Undertaking numerous infrastructural development projects is imperative for Bangladesh to accomplish its goal of attaining upper-middle-income status.The formulation of an effective plan in this regard is pivotal for attaining sustainable economic growth (The World Bank, 2020).s _ uk uk is a conducive source for funding infrastructure development projects (Sukmana, 2020).Handayani and Surachman (2017) also demonstrate the deployment of s _ uk uk to fund infrastructure development in Indonesia.Smaoui and Nechi (2017) scrutinized the impact of s _ uk uk issued throughout the period 1995-2015 in all s _ uk uk issuing countries and opined that s _ uk uk market expansion stimulated financial inclusion and economic growth.s _ uk uk also contributed to the economic progress of Southeast Asia (Ledhem, 2022).Sukmana (2020) identified economic growth as a driving factor for high sales of retail s _ uk uk in Indonesia.For the development of the local s _ uk uk market, strengthening economic development is recommended (Aman et al., 2022).In Malaysia, the sense of making a contribution to the economic rebuilding of the nation spurred the enthusiasm of investors to purchase S _ uk uk Prihatin (Bin-Nashwan et al., 2022).2.4.2Social equity.Evaluation of the moral factors of an investment is an ingrained feature of Islamic finance (Alswaidan et al., 2017).The fundamental principle of Islam is to ensure welfare and fairness in society.For this purpose, the government and corporations can deploy s _ uk uk to augment socially accountable financing and promote social equity (Guermazi, 2020).Socially conscious investors prioritize aligning financial profit-making strategies with social responsibility (Puaschunder, 2017).For instance, the use of funds by s _ uk uk issuers in education and other contributory sectors to promote social equity is the driving factor that motivates investors to invest in s _ uk uk in Malaysia (Rahman et al., 2020).Similarly, among other reasons, motivations for investing in s _ uk uk Prihatin during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia included patriotism, and a willingness to aid in the country's recovery plan (Bin-Nashwan et al., 2022).

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Incorporating above mentioned two variables, for the construct SRIB, the developed hypothesis is: H4. SRIB has a significant influence on Bangladeshi potential retail investors' willingness to invest in s _ uk uk.

Rating (RAT)
One of the risks associated with an investment in s _ uk uk is default risk or credit risk.The meaning of this risk is the probability of the issuer being unsuccessful in fulfilling its commitments to pay the cash flows to the s _ uk uk holders.If the nature of the underlying asset is usufruct providing to the issuer rather than profit-generating, payoff to s _ uk uk investors depends on the issuer's ability to meet the obligations (Bacha and Mirakhor, 2013).Thus, Tariq and Dar (2007) commented that the reason behind s _ uk uk default in the past was the lack of creditworthiness of the issuer (Tariq and Dar, 2007).
Rating aids investors in assessing the comparative protection of s _ uk uk (Zakaria et al., 2012).It examines the strength of the issuer or asset in repaying the principal with a profit.The s _ uk uk rating was introduced in 1994.The appraisal of underlying assets is important for asset-backed s _ uk uk, and the evaluation of an issuer's creditworthiness is pertinent in assetbased s _ uk uk (Safari et al., 2014).Issuers' profitability and third-party guarantees also affect the s _ uk uk ratings.Kamarudin et al. (2014) identified mixed results while examining the impact of initial credit rating on default of short-term and long-term s _ uk uk in Malaysia.On the other hand, by applying value-at-risk (VaR) techniques, Alam et al. (2018) inspected the default patterns of corporate s _ uk uk issuances in Malaysia over a span of 16 years (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) in nine different economic sectors and concluded that their default predictions were consistent with the credit ratings assigned by credit rating agencies.On a similar note, Borhan and Ahmad (2018) commented, investors preferring safety may consider investing in s _ uk uk with good ratings to increase the likelihood of obtaining comparatively higher and assured payoffs.
In this study, we aimed to identify the impact of rating (RAT) on the willingness of potential retail s _ uk uk investors in Bangladesh.Thus, the hypothesis developed is: H5. RAT has a significant influence on Bangladeshi potential retail investors' willingness to invest in s _ uk uk.

Return
The nature of the disparate contracts between issuers and investors results in disparities in the nature of returns of s _ uk uk (Razak et al., 2019).Contingent on the nature of the underlying contract, s _ uk uk can provide disparate types of returns: fixed one-time returns at maturity, fixed periodic returns, variable one-time returns and variable periodic returns (Safari et al., 2014).Duqi and Al-Tamimi (2019) found that greater expected returns inspire investors to invest in s _ uk uk.Similarly, Sukmana (2020) opined that the returns are an important component for attracting investors.Although the authors commented on the inevitability of generating competitive returns, they did not examine the preferred nature of expected cash flows.
This study includes cash flow preference as a variable to better understand potential investors' demand.We also attempt to determine whether investors are ready to forego returns if they are assured of the Shar ı ʿah compatibility of their investment.
As s _ uk uk is a new instrument in Bangladesh, it is necessary to identify the variables that spur investor demand.Hence, this study endeavors to identify the factors that influence Bangladeshi investors' potential investment in s _ uk uk.Extrapolated from previous studies, the variables considered for testing in this study were awareness, Shar ı ʿah consciousness investment behavior, return patterns, guarantees, tenors, tradability, ratings and economic contribution.We reached the respondents depending on their accessibility and eagerness to respond.In addition to the trainees, questionnaires were distributed to other investors who had visited the BICM.We also requested some brokerage house employees to provide questionnaires to Bangladeshi retail investors.As s _ uk uk is a new instrument, investors and professionals were likely to be unaware of its features and uses.To familiarize the respondents with the s _ uk uk features, types, use and structures, before starting data collection, they were trained for one hour to three hours depending on the training program they attended.Each question or statement was explained to the respondents while conducting the survey.A total of 302 samples were collected.However, some of the respondents did not answer certain questions and some provided contradicting answers.We excluded these responses from our analysis.In the questionnaire, two statements ("I will only invest in s _ uk uk if the return is fixed" and " I am ready to accept variable return") were used to check respondents' understanding.If an answer to these statements contradicted with desired return pattern while answering the question "What kind of returns do you prefer the most?", we excluded the response from the analysis.Thus, the number of usable responses was reduced from 302 to 250.To avoid redundancy, the two mentioned statements were not included in the analysis as the desired return pattern was analyzed by the question "What kind of returns do you prefer the most?".Further data skimming has been performed to exclude investors displaying less familiarity.Finally, 245 responses displaying a better understanding of the new instrument were analyzed.

Type and source of data
The data used in this study were primary in nature and gathered through both offline and online surveys of the respondents participating in this research.The surveys were conducted between October 2019 and November 2020.Data collection was postponed from March 2020 to June 2020 because of the spread of Covid-19.The data collection process was conducted in offline mode starting in October 2019, and questionnaires were collected using the online platform of the Zoom meeting from July 2020 to November 2020.

Questionnaire development and data collection
To comprehend the attributes that influence buying behavior, pertinent writings on the subject were reviewed.Apart from studies based on s _ uk uk, previous studies on Islamic banking and other sectors have been used to extrapolate variables related to awareness and buying behavior.Based on the literature review, 16 attributes were identified.A structured questionnaire was developed on the basis of these variables.
The questionnaire was divided into three sections: section 1 comprised five questions on the demographic profile of the respondents; in the second section, 16 statements were used to collect data using a 6-point Likert scale, where point "1" represents "strongly disagree" and point "6" represents "strongly agree" The study used a Likert scale of 6 points because research revealed that it provides higher reliability than the Likert scale (5 points).A six-point Likert scale forces respondents to think about all options, whereas a five-point Likert scale allows them to be lazy and simply select a middle option without much thinking (Chomeya, 2010).In the third section, two questions with given options were asked to comprehend investors' preferences.Sources and representations of questions and statements are listed in Table 1.3.4 Data analysis technique and statistical tools 3.4.1 Factor analysis.Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) method was used to categorize the factors in the study.In this study, EFA was used as the data reduction technique.EFA reduces numerous variables (tests, scales, items, persons, etc.) to a smaller number of assumed underlying hypothetical elements called factors (Fruchter, 1967).The primary objective of factor analysis is data reduction and substantive interpretation (Field, 2005).It attempts to simplify relationships that exist among a number of apparently irrelevant variables by identifying common aspects or factors that link together while providing an understanding of the underlying design of the data (Dillion and Goldstein, 1984).The authors adopted principal component analysis to extract the factors influencing the willingness of potential investors to invest in s _ uk uk.Principal component analysis is used to extract various components or factors that are found to fit when the study is exploratory in nature, and the objective is data summarization (Hair et al., 2006).This can explain more of the variance than loadings obtained using other factoring methods.Factor analysis diagnostics, such as the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity, have also been applied.The number of principal components considered in the study was determined based on Kaiser's (1958) criterion of an eigenvalue greater than 1.Of the several methods of orthogonal rotation, the varimax rotation procedure has been used, which maximizes the dispersion of loadings within factors and attempts to load a smaller number of variables highly onto each factor (Kinnear and Gray, 2004).The constructs represent both investors' behavioral aspects and s _ uk uk features that are desirable to potential Bangladeshi retail investors.SHCONIB and AWARE constructs represent the behavioral aspects of potential retail investors.SNL and RAT represent desirable s _ uk uk features.This study incorporated guarantee, tradability, rating as well as desired return pattern and tenor.The factor SRIB represents both the s _ uk uk feature and investors' behavior by incorporating the use of the s _ uk uk fund and investors' response toward how funds are to be utilized by issuers.

Demographic profile of the respondents
The demographic profile of respondents is essential for studying investors' investment decisions (Table 2).Of the respondents, 88.6% respondents were male and 95.9% were Muslim.The age range of 74.7% of investors is from to 20-40, implying that most of the

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investors are young.Highly educated investors dominated the survey and 59.6% were postgraduates.However, only 17.6% of the respondents were capital market professionals, whereas the rest were from different professions.

Reliability test
Cronbach's alpha was used to investigate the unwavering quality of the instrument used to collect the essential information.Cronbach's alpha estimates the unwavering quality of unique classes and comprises assessments of how much assortment in the scores of various factors is due to shots.A coefficient more than or equal to 0.60 is acknowledged as a decent sign of building unwavering quality.This value of Cronbach's alpha in our findings is 0.812, indicating that the study factors were reliable (Hair et al., 2006).The effects of testing the unwavering quality of the investigation factors are presented in Table 3 (Panel A).

Descriptive statistics of the variables
Table 3 (Panel A) also presents the descriptive statistics of this study.The Table presents the mean values and standard deviations of the constructs.Some constructs had higher mean values, suggesting that most respondents assigned higher weights to them.Among these "Security and liquidity" ranks first implying the respondents of this study emphasize this issue most.
4.4 Factor analysis 4.4.1 Data validity.Table 3 (Panel B) presents the results of the KMO measure of sample adequacy and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity.The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure varies between 0 and 1, and values closer to 1 are viewed as better.This demonstrates that the correlation patterns are relatively compact; thus, the factor analysis should yield distinct and reliable results.Kaiser (1974) recommends values greater than 0.5 as adequate, and this study shows an acceptable KMO value of 0.747.Bartlett's sphericity test tested the null hypothesis that the correlation matrix was an identity matrix.Here, the overall correlation is significant at <0.001 level demonstrating that factor analysis is a suitable methodology for this study.A) shows that 67.70% of the variance can be explained by the five extracted factors.This table also demonstrates the communalities.If communalities for a variable are low (<0.4), it implies that the variable struggled to load on any factor.The results show that all variables have communalities greater than 0.4.This implies that all the variables are significantly loaded on the factors (Hair et al., 2006).However, this table also presents the factor loading of each variable.This factor loading can take values ranging from zero to one.Most of the variables had loading values greater than 0.7.Only three variables have a value less than 0.7, but these are more than 0.5, which is also significant (Stevans, 1992).The first factor comprises six variables: An inclination to bear losses for Shar ı ʿah-compliant products, previous investment in Shar ı ʿah-compliant products with fewer returns, exploration of Shar ı ʿah-compliant investment opportunities, refusal to invest in conventional counterparts with higher returns, convincing others not to invest in non-Shar ı ʿah-compliant products and Shar ı ʿah-complaint investment habits.This factor was named as "Shar ı ʿ ʿah conscious investment behavior" and explained 26.72% of the variation.The second factor comprises three variables: understanding "s _ uk uk," understanding "Shar ı ʿah-complaint investment," and understanding "riba".This factor was named "investor awareness" and represented 16.03% of the variation.The third factor comprises three variables: government or thirdparty guarantees, tenors, and tradability.This factor was named "Security and liquidity" and explained 9.15% of the variation.The fourth factor of the study comprised two variables: willingness to choose an investment with economic contribution and willingness to choose an investment preferring social equity projects.This factor was named as "socially responsible investment behavior" and accounted for 8.27% of the variation.Finally, the last factor of the study comprises two variables: the rating of the asset and the rating of the issuer.The Fifth factor of the study was named "rating" and explained 7.52% of the variations.Overall, 67.70% of the total variation is explained by these five factors.In other words, one predictor variable can be used to predict another.To confirm that there is no multicollinearity, every indicator's variance inflation factor (VIF) value should be less than 5 (Hair et al., 2011(Hair et al., , 2012)), a value less than 3.3 is considered an excellent value (Diamantopoulos and Siguaw, 2006), whereas, under 10, no collinearity is commonly accepted (Hair et al., 1995).The values reported in Table 4 (Panel B) show that all of the VIF values are below 3.3, which appears to be an amazing measure for running the regression.The Durbin-Watson test statistic was used to identify autocorrelation in the residuals in regression analysis.The DW statistic always assumes a value between zero and four, where a value between 1.5 and 2.5 is acceptable.The reported value of 2.008 indicates a favorable result.R 2 measures the extent of the variance of a dependent variable, which is explained by an independent variable or a variable in a regression model.In this model, the R 2 was 35.8% (Table 4, Panel B) which means that approximately 35.8% of the observed variation could be explained by the inputs of this model.However, the adjusted R 2 was a modified version of the R 2 adjusted for the number of predictors in the model; in this model, it was 34.5%.The Calculated F-value of the model indicates the significance of the overall model at the 99% confidence level.
4.5.2Regression results.The intercepts and factors 1, 2 and 3 in the regression model are statistically significant (Table 5, Panel A).The intercept of the model was significant at the 95% confidence level.Among these three significant factors, factor 1 which is termed as "Shar ı ʿah conscious investment behavior" is significant at 90% confidence level whereas factor 2 namely "Investor awareness", and factor 3 namely "Security and liquidity" are significant at 99% confidence level.The other two variables namely "Socially responsible investment behavior" and "Rating" seem insignificant in this model implying that investors who participated in this study did not consider these factors as important.4.6 Return and tenor preference of the respondent 4.6.1Return preference.The respondents were asked to express their return preferences for s _ uk uk in Bangladesh.The nature of returns provided by s _ uk uk is dependent on its underlying contract.Thus, investor return pattern preferences have important policy implications.Table 5 (Panel B) shows that 47.8% of the respondents prefer variable periodic returns, indicating that they agree to bear the risk of the investment, followed by 24.5% preferring a fixed periodic return, 3.3% preferring a fixed one-time return and 2.4% preferring the least preferred option of variable one-time return.However, 19.6% of the respondents agreed to invest despite any return pattern for Shar ı ʿah-compliant products, implying a strong intention to invest in Shar ı ʿah-compliant instruments.
Although profitability is an important investment consideration, investors' Shar ı ʿah consciousness outweighs this factor.The results show that if investment in s _ uk uk ensures Shar ı ʿah conformation, potential investors are more likely to invest in Shar ı ʿah-compliant s _ uk uk (Table 5, Panel A).
4.6.2Tenor preference.The respondents were asked to state their views on the most appropriate tenor preference for Investment s _ uk uk in Bangladesh.Table 5 (Panel C) shows that most respondents prefer s _ uk uk maturities of one to five years, which is a total of 47.8% followed by 15.1% preference for five to ten years, 13.9% preference for up to one year of maturity and 2.4% preference for more than ten years.Based on the sample responses, it can be concluded that the desired period is 1-5 years.However, 20.8% chose any tenor as their preference, implying that they were desperately searching for Shar ı ʿah-complaint investment opportunities.(SNL and RAT) influencing the willingness of Bangladeshi investors to purchase s _ uk uk.The results have depicted that "Shar ı ʿah conscious investment behavior (SHCONIB)" has a significant impact on Bangladeshi individual investors' intention to invest in s _ uk uk.In a country with a Muslim majority population, this outcome was not surprising in Bangladesh.This result is consistent with the studies of Duqi and Al-Tamimi (2019), Khan et al. (2020) and Awn and Azam (2020).
The findings also discovered the crucial influence of "Investor awareness (AWARE)" on s _ uk uk investment inclination of Bangladesh retail investors conforming with the results of Warsame and Ireri (2016), Khan et al. (2020) and Awn and Azam (2020).
Among the inspected s _ uk uk features, "Security and liquidity (SNL)" appeared to be an important factor for making investment decision.Bangladeshi investors stressed on having a guarantee as a measure of safety, which is also identified as a decisive factor by Borhan and Ahmad (2018) and Sukmana (2020).This study has also identified liquidity resulting from the tradability of s _ uk uk in the secondary market as a desired feature by Bangladesh investors.This result is in line with Duqi and Al-Tamimi (2019) and Razak et al. (2019), but in contrast to the finding of (Bin-Nashwan et al., 2022).Contrary to Borhan and Ahmad (2018), the results of this study, further showed that investors are indifferent regarding another investigated s _ uk uk feature, the rating (RAT) of s _ uk uk.Borhan and Ahmad (2018) opined investors prefer good ratings of s _ uk uk to enhance protection.In contrast, Bangladeshi investors have not identified rating as an important feature of s _ uk uk.s _ uk uk has been deployed to achieve economic development and social equity in many countries (Sukmana, 2020;Guermazi, 2020;Ledhem, 2022).Socially responsible investors prefer s _ uk uk issued for contributing to economic development and social equity (Puaschunder, 2017;Rahman et al., 2020;Bin-Nashwan et al., 2022).However, in this study, the impact of "Socially responsible investment behavior (SRIB)" on s _ uk uk purchasing intention appeared statistically insignificant.
These implications may aid the issuers and policymakers in crafting strategies and structuring s _ uk uk catering to the preferences of Bangladeshi retail investors.Moreover, creation of investor awareness and assurance of Shar ı ʿah compliance can serve as catalysts for the success of s _ uk uk market in Bangladesh.

Conclusion and recommendations
s _ uk uk, being a newly introduced instrument in Bangladesh, has been included in an insignificant number of research.Therefore, there was a need to fill the gap in research to shed light on the investors' side of the instrument.Hence, this study captures the perceptions of potential retail investors about this instrument.This study identifies the factors that stimulate Bangladeshi potential retail investors' willingness to purchase s _ uk uk.This study surveys investor perceptions.This study provides empirical evidence using two methods.Factor analysis helps determine key factors, whereas regression analysis tests the statistical significance of these factors.Our findings have several implications for both s _ uk uk issuers and policymakers.This is instrumental in implementing policies that shape a conducive system for a vibrant s _ uk uk market.Our finding demonstrates that investor awareness is the leading factor behind positive investment intention.The finding underscores the need for nationwide training programs to raise awareness among potential investors.This study suggests that building awareness among potential investors can positively contribute to the popularization of s _ uk uk.This study also identifies Shar ı ʿah consciousness as an important factor IES when retail investors consider an investment opportunity.Hence, to gain investor trust, Shar ı ʿah scholars must ensure steadfast scrutiny of Shar ı ʿah compliance issues.The results show that government or third-party guarantees, tradability and tenor preferences are the desired s _ uk uk features.Policymakers and s _ uk uk issuers may consider these features to meet investor demand.Our study identifies some preferred s _ uk uk features from the perspective of Bangladeshi retail investors.There is scope for research that analyzes institutional investors' perspectives.In addition, it is necessary to investigate effective ways of incorporating desired s _ uk uk features to ensure sustainability.
3.4.2Regression analysis.Regression analysis was performed using the five extracted factors and the following regression model was used: INVEST 5 G (SHCONIB, AWARE, SNL, SRIB, RAT) INVEST 5 Willingness to invest in s _ uk uk by Bangladeshi potential individual investors SHCONIB 5 Shar ı ʿah conscious investment behavior AWARE 5 Investor awareness SNL 5 Security and liquidity SRIB 5 Socially responsible investment behavior RAT 5 Rating feature

Figure 1
Figure1shows the scree plot used to extract the number of factors.It can be observed from the figure that five factors are extracted (eigenvalues >1).

IES
Population, sampling technique and sample size Bangladesh Institute of Capital Market (BICM) is a government-mandated Institute for imparting education on the Capital Markets (www.bicm.gov.bd).BICM is an appropriate platform for reaching existing and potential investors.To understand Bangladeshi retail investors' perspectives, this study used a sample of capital market investors, including participants who willingly attended different investor awareness programs, workshops and certificate courses (www.bicm.ac.bd).Convenience sampling was used for data collection.
Several research studies from around the world have delved into the determinants of retail investors' willingness to invest in s _ uk uk.This study has investigated behavioral factors (SHCONIB, AWARE and SRIB) and contextual factors