TOKYO: Impatient shareholders are calling on the world's top firms to start spending some of the eye-popping $2.8 trillion in cash built up since the financial crisis, as analysts warn that their thriftiness could be holding back global growth.
The combined war chests held by companies including Apple, Google and Samsung -- roughly equivalent to the size of France's economy -- has swelled since the 2008 global downturn hammered stock markets and saw nervous firms pinching their pennies as they waited out the storm.
But even as markets bounced back and business confidence recovered, the cash piles kept growing.
That has prompted a drumbeat of calls for firms to start spending more on share buybacks or boosting dividends, building new factories, or acquiring rival firms.
Among those targeted was Toyota, which last month announced a plan to start buying back $3.5 billion worth of its shares after its annual investor meeting in June.
The move by the world's largest automaker would be the first time in five years it has embarked on a buyback, which tends to boost a company's stock and signals growing confidence among management.
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