The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic slowdown have negatively impacted various industries and will cause losses, defaults in debt obligations, and significantly increase the risk of insolvency. An excessive level of debt could lead to unsustainable growth, financial distress, and insolvency. Sustainable growth rate (SGR) may have a significant impact on corporate financial distress. Sustainable growth in a business context is the maximum limit for a company to increase its revenue without depleting its financial resources. Sustainable growth rate depends on the earnings retention rate (R) and the return on equity (SGR = R × ROE). The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors affecting the SGR by segregating the positive and negative profitability of Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia. Using STATA software, we conducted a static estimation model to analyse data from 181 Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia collected from 2007 to 2016. The research based on ROE analysis by segregating positive and negative ROE as the potential impact of COVID-19 in Malaysia. For companies of positive ROE, the decrease in the dividend payout and the company’s efficiency, and an increase in profitability will increase the sustainable growth rate. The company with negative ROE shows that the decrease in leverage and an increase in the company’s profitability and the company’s efficiency will result in the increased company’s sustainable growth rate. This research can be a guide for companies to the potential or experimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic either for the company that gains profit or faces the financial losses. This paper also provides an understanding of the corporate sustainable growth rate facing negative and positive profitability in Malaysia.

This paper analyses 98 articles from the 10th International Islamic Economic System Conference (I-iECONS2023) e-proceedings, covering themes, types, authorships, contributions, and keywords. Key themes include Islamic Social Finance, Zakat, Wakaf, Takaful, Business, Management, and Leadership. Most articles are extended abstracts, primarily multi-authored, with Abdul Rauf Ridzuan as the top contributor. Malaysian authors and USIM researchers dominate the contributions. Articles are short, mostly in English, with a higher proportion of female authors. Popular keywords are “Malaysia,” “Waqf,” “Environmental,” “Sustainable Development,” and “Fintech.” The paper provides valuable insights for researchers and policymakers in Islamic economics and social finance.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the determinants and stability of dividend payments in Malaysia from 2007 to 2016. The purposes of this research were (1) to analyse the stability of dividend per share, (2) to examine the determinants of dividend yield, and (3) to examine the effect of dividend per share on the sustainable growth rate of Shariah-compliant firms in Malaysia. Static model and dynamic model estimated using Generalised Method of Moment were used in this research. The results indicated that the stable earnings per share can afford the firms to pay a larger dividend. Futhermore, the higher dividend from the previous year with the lower speed adjustment indicated high smoothing and stability of dividend payment. The results on determinants of the dividend yield revealed the five factors that are lagged dividend yield, firm size, sales growth, leverage, and market value to book value have a significant impact on dividend yield, with lagged dividend yield and firm size showing a significant positive effect, while sales growth, leverage, and market value to book value have a significant negative impact. In addition, the results indicated that dividend per share had a significantly positive impact on the sustainable growth rate. The results of this study are important for the management team of companies to decide an appropriate dividend policy for the company to maintain a stable dividend payment and have the financial health of a company, These results also provided the understanding of dividend policy behaviour in Malaysia, particularly on Malaysian public-listed Shariah-compliant firms.

This study investigates two main objectives. Firstly, the determinants of capital structure were examined for each sector among Malaysian Shariah-compliant firms, and whether the inclusion of Islamic debt (leverage 1 and leverage 2) has led to different results due to changes in the screening methodology. Secondly, this paper analyzes the target Capital Structure and Speed of Adjustment for both before and after the Revised Screening Methodology. This study employs panel data analysis by using generalized method of moment (GMM). The sample consists of 192 Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia during the period of 1999 to 2017. The results demonstrated that the firm has target capital structure and identified specific determinants that have affected the capital structure of Shariah-compliant firms in Malaysia. Moreover, the findings have also revealed certain implications toward large firms. Large firms tend to generate more income and profit, however at the same time, these firms require more debt to support investment activities. Hence, with regards to profitability, this study identified a negative relationship between profitability and leverage for Shariah-compliant firms for all sectors. Shariah-compliant firms with high profitability will use a lower leverage in their financial activities. Thus, the results strongly support the pecking order theory. Other than that, this study found that the lagged dependent variable (lagged leverage 1 and leverage 2) presented a positive significance, and concluded that the speed of adjustment takes approximately 2 years. This suggests that the Shariah-compliant firms close approximately by 30% to 70% of the gap between current and target capital structure within one and two years. Furthermore, the findings on the target leverage level imply that after the revised screening methodology was introduced in November 2013, the speed of adjustment became faster than before the implementation of the new screening methodology. Thus, it is important for management to maintain the target leverage during financial decision making, which in turn strengthens the firm’s Shariah-compliant financial stability and sustainability, and continue to remain listed as Shariah-compliant securities. This paper provides an overview of capital structure behaviour in Malaysia.

The consumption of Halal cosmetics products has experienced significant growth in recent years. The State of the Global Islamic Economy Report (2022) reported that the global market size of Halal cosmetics is estimated to reach US$93 billion in 2025 at a 4-year CAGR of 7.4%. This empirical study attempts to examine the determinant factors of purchasing behavior of Muslim Millennials and Gen Z in Malaysia towards Halal cosmetics behaviors in the expansion of the Halal economy. In addition, it also seeks to unearth whether faith acts as the mediating variable between determinants of purchasing behavior of Halal cosmetics amongst Malaysian Muslims. The determinants of purchasing behavior(product, price, place, promotion, and people) were examined in this study. Data were collected from 303 Malaysians through a questionnaire used to test the proposed model drawn from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that three marketing stimuli variables of price, product, and promotion affect the faith and purchasing behavior of Halal cosmetic products, that faith mediates the relationship between price, product, and promotion and purchasing behavior of Halal cosmetic consumers. Results indicated that price, product, and promotion are considered as complementary mediation and that price is “direct-only non-mediation” in Gen Z, but “no-effect non-mediation” in Gen X and Millennials. The outcome of this research will not only advance theoretical knowledge but also provide practical implications to industry players involved in Halal cosmetics industry.

The 17 SDGs introduced by the United Nations to achieve a more sustainable and equitable future saw a setback when it was reported that COVID-19 epidemic had reversed 25 years of poverty reduction. Geopolitical crises worldwide plus escalating prices resulting from extreme climate change, have placed 95 million people in extreme poverty (UNStats). Ultimately, extreme climate change, global health crisis, warfare, poverty, and inequality are unprecedented global issues that remain unresolved. Green Sukuk, Islamic bonds used to finance environmentally friendly initiatives, is rapidly expanding and has the potential to generate billions of funds. However, countries that adopt and use Green Sukuk must have a legal, regulatory, social, and technological environment that is supportive and conducive. With technical advances, raising finance can be cheaper, and Shariah laws will benefit society. The Internet of Everything would be a perfect partner since it unites persons, things, information, and processes into a connected framework and enables intelligent decision-making. This study reviews current literature to evaluate if Green Sukuk empowered by IoE can achieve SDGS and provide a new paradigm. Analysis from study points that mobilising private resources and using new technology can accelerate SDG attainment and make the future more sustainable and equitable.

Healthy, resilient and sustainable profitability is vital in maintaining the stability of the banking system. Research on a bank’s financial performance is an important tool towards improving performance, evaluating bank operations and determining management plans for the bank’s survival in competitive markets. Therefore, this study was conducted to fill a demanding gap in the literature by providing new and the latest empirical evidence on the determinants of the financial performance of Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of bank-specific factors on Islamic banks’ financial performance. The performance of Islamic banks is measured based on return on average assets (ROAA). An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) panel data analysis on EViews 12 was used to analyse annual data from 16 Islamic banks in Malaysia for the period of 2012 to 2021. The results revealed that only bank size from bank-specific factors has a significant positive impact in determining banks’ financial performance. Therefore, this research can be a hint at how banks should plan and measure the direction of their operations and assets management in order to sustain their performance.

As This study investigates the influence of marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion), on purchasing behavior of Indonesian Gen Z when buying Halal cosmetics. The objective of this study was to enhance the current understanding and bridge the gaps in existing literature by examining the marketing effects and cognitive factors associated with Gen Z’s purchasing behavior, as previous studies in Indonesia have mainly focused on Halal food and pharmaceutical consumption. There is a need to enter this Halal sector because cosmetics are now regarded as a primary requirement, and the Halal cosmetics business's growth will affect any country's GDP. The study sets out to investigate the impact of TPB constructs on purchasing behavior of Gen Z regarding Halal cosmetics products. The proposed model identifies the factors that shape the purchase intention of Gen Z towards Halal cosmetics and analyze how these marketing mix factors impact their attitude. The quantitative study was conducted on the island of Java, with data obtained from 500 respondents. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the PLS (Partial Least Square) approach with the SmartPLS application. The study found that marketing mix elements exert influence on the purchasing behavior of Indonesian Gen Z when purchasing Halal cosmetics. These findings contribute not only to advancing theoretical knowledge but also provide practical implications for the industry players.

We aim to investigate the sustainable growth rate that mediate the relationship between the firm specific factors and share price performance. The existing literature provides inadequate findings on the relationship between the firm specific factors and share price performance; there is an implicit assumption that this relationship is direct. An alternative perspective that has received less attention in the literature posits that this relationship can be mediated by the sustainable growth rate, especially from the perspective of Shariah-compliant companies. Using STATA software, we conducted structural equation model (SEM) to analyse data from 181 Shariah-compliant companies in Malaysia collected from 2007 to 2016. According to our results, the Shariah-compliant sample meets SEM requirements, such that the sustainable growth rate shows a significant relationship with share price performance. According to mediation effect results, capital structure, dividend policy, profitability and firm size are considered “indirect-only mediator”. These results demonstrate that certain factors influence the sustainable growth rate, including the planning and managing of a firm’s financial and operational activities. The sustainable growth rate is important for helping firms to manage, guide, control and plan their operating and financial strategies. The sustainable growth rate can also improve financial performance and assist managers with financing decisions. The findings of this study can be used as a reference for future studies that examine other aspects of the sustainable growth rate, especially across sectors, to determine how firms can more successfully manage financial and operating activities.

The sustainable growth rate is a growth rate for a company to achieve by maintaining target capital structure, target dividend policy, and its operating performance. The interdependency between financial and operating policy is an important decision to be considered in order to sustain the growth rate and improve share price performance. In relation to financial policy, the Securities Commission has introduced new screening methodology benchmarks based on financial ratios to be listed as Shariah-compliant firms in 2013. Due to this new screening methodology benchmarks, the reduction number of Shariah-compliant firms making only 653 firms in November 2013 out of the total 801 firms in May 2013 from the total listed securities on Bursa Malaysia. One of the reasons for the reduction in the number of Shariah-compliant firms is due to higher conventional debt, where the debt ratios are more than the limit or threshold of 33 per cent. Driven by this fact, this study investigates (1) the existence of a target capital structure and target dividend policy; (2) the mediating effect of sustainable growth rate on the relationship between firm specific factors (capital structure, dividend policy, profitability, company efficiency and firm size) and share price performance; and (3) whether there is a capital structure threshold in the relationship between capital structure and the sustainable growth rate. In this study, 181 public-listed Shariah-compliant securities in Malaysia were selected from 2007 until 2016. Data were collected from the Thomson Reuters database. This study employed panel data analysis, i.e. Pooled OLS, Random Effect Model, Fixed Effect Model, Generalized Method of Moment, Structural Equation Model (SEM), and Static Panel Threshold regression using Stata software. The findings of objective one indicate that target capital structure and target dividend policy exists for Shariah-compliant firms. The results of objective two conclude that the sustainable growth rate is one of the important factors influencing share price performance and that it also plays a role as mediator variable. The evidence indicates a strong relationship between capital structure, dividend policy, profitability and firm size on the sustainable growth rate. The third objective shows that the capital structure threshold is not limited to 33 percent (total debt to total assets), but to 37 percent to sustain the growth. In order to remain listed as Shariah-compliant companies, the choice is to take Shariah securities or Islamic debt after hitting 33 percent. In addition, the sustainable growth rate is important for helping firms to manage and control their operating and financial strategies. The findings of this study can be used as a reference for future studies that examine other aspects of the sustainable growth rate.