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Despite being a Muslim-dominated country, Bangladesh has widely embraced traditional microfinance since its inception in the mid-1970s. However, Islamic microfinance, which has a lot to offer to the poor, is still in its infancy and has yet to gain momentum in the country. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the importance of Islamic microfinance and propose alternative Shariah-compliant microfinance models in Bangladesh.

This study is based on the desk research method, which relies on existing literature to collect secondary data on key concerns of traditional microfinance programs. In addition, institutional-level secondary data were also collected from the Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) of Bangladesh. Guided by the Maqasid-al-Shariah, this study then proposes several Islamic microfinance models to overcome selected challenges faced by the microfinance industry in Bangladesh.

This study suggested three composite Shariah-compliant microfinance models, which are likely to help the underprivileged and thus ensure the achievement of the sustainable development goals in Bangladesh. The first model explained how the operational strategy of incumbent microfinance institutions (MFIs) could be restructured, while the second proposed the organizational strategies for establishing a new MFI. The third model used the notion of Sadaqah (charity) to address the multiple borrowing issues of the industry. Meanwhile, the successful transformation of the conventional microfinance industry to an Islamic one is dependent on the effective collaboration between the regulatory authorities, practitioners and MFIs.

Albeit the paucity of literature on the topic, the findings of this study will guide policymakers/practitioners in designing relevant microfinance models to help transform conventional microfinance into Islamic microfinance in Bangladesh.

This study compares the motives of holding cash between developed (Australian) and developing (Malaysian) financial markets.

For the period 2006–2020, the t-test, fixed-effect and generalised method of moment (GMM) model have been applied to a sample of 1878 (1,165 Australian and 713 Malaysian) firms.

The empirical results reveal that firms in developed financial markets hold higher cash compared to the developing financial markets. The findings confirm that motives to hold cash differ between developed and developing financial markets. The GMM findings further show that cash holdings (CH) in Australia are higher due to higher ratios of cash flow, research and development (R&D) and return on assets (ROA), and lower due to larger dividend payments. In the Malaysian market, however, cash flows and R&D are ineffectual, ROA falls and dividend payments rise CH.

The study helps managers, practitioners and investors understand that firms' distinct economic, institutional, accounting and financial environments are important. To attain the desired outcomes, they must thus comprehend and consider these considerations while developing suitable liquidity strategies.

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the initial research demonstrating how varied cash motives and their ramifications are in developed and developing financial markets. Therefore, this study identifies the importance that CH motives varied among financial markets and that findings from a particular market cannot be generalised to other markets because of the market and financial structural variations.