Green bonds as a tool against climate change?

Although green bonds are becoming increasingly popular in the corporate finance practice, little is known about their implications and effectiveness in terms of issuers' environmental engagement. With the use of matched bond-issuer data, we test whether green bond issues are associated to a reduction in total and direct (Scope 1) emissions of nonfinancial companies. We find that, compared with conventional bond issuers with similar financial characteristics and environmental ratings, green issuers display a decrease in the carbon intensity of their assets after borrowing on the green segment. The decrease in emissions is more pronounced, significant and long-lasting when we exclude green bonds with refinancing purposes, which is consistent with an increase in the volume of climate-friendly activities due to new projects. We also find a larger reduction in emissions in case of green bonds that have external review, as well as those issued after the Paris Agreement.     

Does financing strategy accelerate corporate energy transition? Evidence from green bonds

With energy transition becoming an urgent priority for companies worldwide, practitioners and policymakers are urging them to finance climate-friendly projects. This paper investigates how the issuance of green bonds affects firms' carbon emissions and environmental performance. Our results show that green bond issuance significantly improves firms' overall environmental performance and their capacities to create new environmental technologies and processes. However, green bond issuance has a less clear effect on carbon emissions intensity and requires additional time (one or more years) before being able to improve the emissions intensity. Taken together, our study's findings clearly highlight the importance of green bonds in financing energy transition in the corporate sector and provide evidence to encourage policymakers to strengthen the legal framework relating to their issuance.     

自愿披露客户信息影响了债券违约风险吗？

以2010—2021年沪深A股上市公司发行的公司债为样本,实证检验了自愿披露客户信息对债券违约风险的影响。研究发现,自愿披露客户信息产生的额外风险加剧了债券违约风险,这种影响在高专有成本和高融资约束的企业中表现更为显著,但企业发行的绿色债券并未受到影响。机制检验表明,经营风险增加和机构投资者持股降低是自愿披露客户信息影响债券违约风险的重要途径。研究表明,企业需要慎重考虑披露客户信息带来的风险,审慎制定信息披露策略。     

Interactive effects of brand reputation and ESG on green bond issues: A sustainable development perspective

This paper shows that brand reputation alone may not be sufficient to help firms successfully issue green bonds and that they may need superior corporate social responsibility performance in the form of high ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores to unlock the full potential of their brand reputation. Using a sample of 338 international green bond issues across 108 unique firms, we found significant positive effects of ESG disclosure score and its interaction brand reputation on the issuance of green bonds while controlling for other variables, such as fixed effects of industry, region, and time. We also show that it is the S (Social) component of ESG and the interactions of its E (Environmental) and G (Governance) components with brand reputation which drive successful green bond issuance. Besides extending the current research on the impact of brand reputation and ESG on green bonds, these results also have important managerial implications for analysts, fund managers, and firms planning to raise green capital.     

Financial information,green certification,government subsidies and green bond credit spreads–evidence from China

In the context of green bonds playing an increasingly vital role in the green financial market, this study selects 61 green bonds issued in China from 2016 to 2021 as samples to examine the factors influencing green bond credit, including financial information and ratings of issuers, green certification, and government subsidies. First and foremost, based on AHP and entropy method, the financial composite index is constructed to evaluate the issuers’ finance. Additionally, the differences in the cost of green bonds issued by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and semi-enterprises are explored by adding the property rights variable. Empirical results indicate that the issuer’s rating could significantly affect the credit spread. In addition, the green bond credit spreads of SOEs are more competitive than those of semi-enterprises. When the issuer is a SOE, green bond credit spread has a remarkable negative correlation with finance information. Furthermore, green certification and government grants are not the main factors. Finally, the green bond market, crucial to controlling the green financial system, is presented with specific recommendations for its growth in this study.

     

Exploring an innovative pivot: How green training can spur corporate sustainability performance

In general, studies on green innovation practices have primarily taken an innovation view to study the costs and benefits to firms. What has been less examined, however, is how green training spurs the intentions and advantages of green innovation. Thus, this paper explores how and when green training influences the likelihood of firms to achieve sustainability performance by using organizational learning theory. Using a dataset of 231 Chinese manufacturing firms, our work shows that green training is positively correlated to corporate sustainability performance via the indirect effect of green innovation behavior. We also find an increasingly positive indirect effect that is conditional on ambidextrous learning; specifically, this indirect effect is least positive for firms with lower ambidextrous learning capacity but stronger for those firms having higher ambidextrous learning capacity. We hold that the key to spurring corporate sustainability performance through green training lies mainly in advancing firms' green innovation behaviors and persistently enhancing their capacities for ambidextrous learning. Thus, this study offers not only new theoretical insights for understanding the effect of green training on corporate sustainability performance but also practical implications for improving corporate sustainability performance within a green economy context.     

CONVERTIBLE BOND PRICING MODELS

Convertible bonds are an important segment of the corporate bond market, with worldwide outstandings approaching US$235 billion. Simple pricing models value a convertible bond as being equivalent to a straight bond with an embedded option that enables the bond holder to convert to a specific amount of common stock. The straight bond is subject to both interest rate and credit risk, whereas the option to convert is dependent on the underlying stock price, which exposes the convertible bond holder to equity risk. The complexity of these features means that convertible bonds tend to be treated casually in major derivatives and corporate finance textbooks. This paper presents a survey of the theoretical and empirical aspects of convertible bond pricing. The limitations of these studies are highlighted to identify those areas of research that may improve the valuation process and facilitate the application of these securities for corporate financing.     

我国发行新农村建设债券的探讨

资金短缺已成为制约新农村建设发展的瓶颈。目前,在政府财政投入有限,农村金融机构无法提供足够金融支持的情况下,通过发行新农村建债券解决新农村建设资金问题。分析了发行新农村建设债券的必要性和可行性,探讨了发行新农村建设债券的思路。     

发挥企业债券融资优势：理论分析与政策建议

债券融资已成为我国企业融资的重要方式。近几年来我国企业债券取得了较大的发展,但还存在诸多问题,这导致我国资本市场出现债券融资滞后的现象。文章分析了企业债券融资的比较优势,同时针对当前制约我国债券市场发展的因素,提出了相关政策建议,旨在进一步促进我国企业债券融资优势的发挥。     

Bridging the gap between corporate social responsibility and new green product success: The role of green organizational identity

In this study we explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility and new green product success based on organizational identity theory. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 150 companies in China. The results indicate that corporate social responsibility positively affects both green organizational identity and green adaptive ability. We also find that green organizational identity and green adaptive ability are positively influences on new green product success. In addition, we find that green organizational identity partially mediates the relationship between corporate social responsibility and green adaptive ability. Moreover, green organizational identity fully mediates the link between corporate social responsibility and new green product success. This means that corporate social responsibility indirectly and positively affects new green product success through green organizational identity. These results suggest that managers should seek to enhance their organizational sense of green identity and improve their organizational green adaptive ability, which will facilitate their firm's sustainable development. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for environmental policy are also discussed.     

现金流量与应计利润在企业债券市场中的有用性——来自沪市的经验证据

文章选取了截止到2005年底在上交所上市的企业债券39支,一共79个公司/年度样本,计算债券年度持有收益率,进而根据面板数据估计了一个横截面回归模型。经验证据表明,债券持有人对会计盈余的两个组成部分都作出正面的估价,并且估价的方式有些类似。这表明会计数字在中国企业债券市场中是有用的,但是应当继续加强发债主体财务信息披露。     

How do green knowledge management and green technology innovation impact corporate environmental performance? Understanding the role of green knowledge acquisition

Increasing regulatory obligations to adapt and execute environmentally friendly operations make it critical for businesses to pursue strategies that can strengthen their competitive edge in the market. Academics and practitioners alike have recently gravitated toward exploring how knowledge acquisition activities might improve business outcomes. To address this growing research interest, this study investigates the critical roles of green knowledge acquisition in enhancing green knowledge management and green technology innovation activities in improving corporate environmental performance, positioning resource commitment as a moderator. The research model has been assessed using structural equation modeling with survey data from 283 Indian manufacturers, demonstrating that green knowledge acquisition significantly impacts green knowledge management and green technology innovation. The statistical findings also show that green technology innovation acts catalyzes the translation of green knowledge management into improved corporate environmental performance. The results demonstrate that resource commitment moderates green knowledge acquisition's interaction with green knowledge management and green technology innovation, providing practical insights enabling managers to focus on planning, allocating, and budgeting resources for effective green practices that can contribute to improving corporate environmental performance.     

Sustainable financing practices through green bonds: What affects the funding size?

Financing through the supply‐driven green bonds market has significantly surged in recent years. In this paper, we examine the factors influencing the size of financing though green bond supply, using cross‐section OLS regressions on a global dataset for 8 years (2010–2017) sourced from Bloomberg. We consider a set of tridimensional factors: bond characteristics, issuer characteristics, and market characteristics and examine their effects on issue size. Alongside whole sample estimation, we produce year‐wise estimations to realize the evolution and persistence of the effects over time. We then produce estimates across rating grades of the bonds. Finally, we carry Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition to see if average issue size has significantly changed over time and whether the factors considered can explain the difference. We find a large number of factors affecting issue size asymmetrically; however, many of the effects do not persist over time and are heterogeneous across rating grades. In contrast to the aggregate market trend, we find no evidence of increases in average issue size in the recent year. Furthermore, the average financing size is found significantly lower for high‐grade bonds. The paper provides a basis for encouraging green bond supply, particularly considering the rating of the bonds and the issuers.     

Understanding the Impact of Green Initiatives and Green Performance on Financial Performance in the US

Sustainable development has received increasing attention in recent literature, driven by increased environmental concerns. We study the influence of green initiatives and green performance on financial performance for the top 500 publicly traded companies in the USA by industry sector. Green initiatives are measured using the concepts Green Pay Link, Sustainability Themed Committee and Audit. Green performance is measured using Energy Productivity, Carbon Productivity, Water Productivity, Waste Productivity and Green Reputation. The results show that green initiatives have a negative impact on Energy Productivity and Green Reputation, and that both green initiatives and green performance have a significant impact on financial performance. These results are mixed and vary by industry sector. The results suggest that companies take a reactive, not proactive, approach in the implementation of green initiatives. In addition, the results suggest that the impact of green performance on financial performance is not immediate, and may take more than a year for companies to observe. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Asset allocation with contagion and explicit bankruptcy procedures

In this paper, we consider the asset allocation problem of an investor allocating his funds between several corporate bonds and a money market account. In particular, we provide a realistic model of financial distress: firstly, we model Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcies as different possible outcomes of financial distress. Secondly, we take into consideration that, in practice, “default” is not the end, but the beginning of financial distress, eventually leading to a reorganization or a liquidation of a distressed firm. Thirdly and most importantly, we are able to analyze the impact of contagion on an investor’s demand for corporate bonds. Contagion is an important phenomenon, as it reduces the investor’s ability to diversify his portfolio, and we show that the bond demand can change by more than 50%.     

The impact of green finance on the level of decarbonization of the economies: An analysis of the United States', China's,and Russia's current agenda

With growing global concern for mainstreaming of environmental protection measures, the promotion of climate change and sustainable development policies, the international community, represented by international organizations, research institutions, and world-wide businesses, has focused on green finance. Existing research on green finance in the context of environmental trends has been reviewed in terms of the products and determinants of green finance. This study aims to assess the impact of green finance on the decarbonization of economies in the context of a review of current and potential problems and prospects. Based on the examples of the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, the study suggests that today green finance has not yet demonstrated a tangible effect in these countries. Based on the results of the study, it can be argued that in the three countries, the main tool of green finance in the field of decarbonization is green bonds; other types of green finance are used to a limited extent. The progress of the United States and China is not so obvious, but based on the overall involvement of relevant government agencies and businesses in the green bond market, it can be assumed that the results will be observed in the near future.     

公开发行债券能提高企业创新产出吗？

以2006—2021年我国A股上市公司为样本，探讨了企业首次发行债券如何影响企业的创新水平。研究发现，企业首次公开发行债券能够显著提升企业的创新水平。机制分析结果表明,企业发行债券通过建立替代性融资渠道缓解融资约束，延长整体债务期限，提高信息披露水平这三个路径来提升企业创新水平。进一步研究发现,在控制了企业后续发债行为后，公开发行债券与企业创新的关系仍然存在；相比于公司债，企业首次发行债券种类为中期票据和企业债时，企业创新水平提升更显著；企业首次发行债券时，债券信用评级越高、发行利率越低，对于企业创新水平的提升越显著。研究结论丰富了债券市场经济后果的研究，也为企业创新发展和实现经济高质量发展提供了来自债券市场的建议。     

Impact investing in biodiversity conservation with bonds: An analysis of financial and environmental risk

Impact investments have the dual goals of generating profit and environmental and/or social impact from the same project or enterprise. This article examines recent impact investments in biodiversity conservation—specifically, debt finance in the form of conventional bonds and impact bonds. The proceeds of these bonds finance projects aiming to enhance forest management, sustainable agriculture, endangered species protection, ecosystem service provision, and nature-based solutions to climate change such as REDD+. The article scrutinises whether these dual goals are achievable by evaluating the financial risks and impact risks within each bond's theory of change. Risks stem from projects with vague cashflow forecasts, project sites with low or ambiguous threat statuses, and simplified impact metrics that may measure activities or outputs—rather than impact. Risk mitigation strategies involve using baselines and counterfactuals to establish additionality, and guarantors to protect investors if revenues are insufficient. Implications for biodiversity management and for-profit conservation are discussed.     

Asymmetric determinants of corporate bond credit spreads in China: Evidence from a nonlinear ARDL model

This study utilizes the nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) model proposed by Shin, Yu, and Greenwood-Nimmo (2014) to quantify the potentially asymmetric transmission of positive and negative changes in each of the possible determinants of industry-level corporate bond credit spreads in China. The determinants we consider include the corresponding industry stock price, China’s stock market volatility, the level and slope of the yield curve (i.e., the interest rate), the industrial production growth rate, and the inflation rate. The empirical results suggest substantial asymmetric effects of these determinants on credit spreads, with the positive changes in the determinants showing larger impacts than the negative changes for most industries we consider. Moreover, the corresponding industry stock prices, the interest rate, and the industrial production growth rate negatively drive the industry credit spreads for many industries. In turn, China’s stock market volatility and the inflation rate positively affect the credit spreads at each industry level. These findings may be helpful to investors, bond issuers and policymakers in understanding the dynamics of credit risks and corporate bond rates at the industry level.     

绿色债券发行能缓解企业债务违约风险吗？——基于多期DID模型的研究

运用理论模型对企业发行不同债券时的差异性情景进行分析,提出企业的绿色债券发行对自身债务违约风险存在抑制效应,并选取2016—2020年1604家上市非金融公司的年度面板数据,基于多期DID模型进行实证检验。研究表明：企业发行绿色债券可以显著降低自身债务违约风险;企业发行绿色债券可以通过缓解融资约束、降低债务融资成本、提高股票流动性和增强绿色声誉这四个渠道降低自身的债务违约风险;外部融资依赖度高、研发支出占比低、信息披露程度高和管理者短视程度低的企业发行绿色债券可以更显著地降低自身债务违约风险。政策上应该进一步引导企业合理发行绿色债券,推动绿色金融的发展。