Abstract:
This study examines the association among ownership structure, corporate governance characteristics and the financial structure of non-financial companies listed in Gulf Cooperation Council markets for a nine years period (2011-2019). Ordinary least-squares regressions are used to examine the relationships between the financial structure as a dependent variable and 15 independent variables. The results reveal that shareholding concentration is positively associated with financial structure. The higher the institutional shareholding in GCC companies, the higher the financial leverage and long-term debt ratio. The increased level of foreign ownership in GCC companies is linked to high levels of investment in fixed assets and a high level of leverage. Governmental shareholding is negatively associated with financial leverage and short-term debt, while positively associated with investment structure. Larger boards are
linked to high leverage and high ratios of short-term debt. Board independence is positively associated with all financial structure variables except short-term debt. The higher the women directorship, the higher the ratio of long-term debt. GCC boards with more frequent meetings linked to lower investment structure and lower long-term debt ratio. The independence of audit committee and the frequency of its meetings are positively associated with the firm's investment structure. Based on the results it is recommended that regulatory bodies encourage the foreign and institutional ownership, concentrate on board and audit committee independence, and encourage the woman directorship.

Keywords: financial structure, corporate governance, ownership structure, investment structure, financial leverage, Gulf Cooperative Council.