政府干预、大股东资产注入:支持抑或掏空

政府干预企业经营活动是普遍存在的现象。本文研究了国有控股上市公司资产注入中的"支持"、"掏空"现象。研究发现,政府控股股东比民营控股股东资产注入的动机更强烈。当上市公司盈利时,政府控股股东通过向上市公司注入资产"掏空"上市公司的动机比民营控股股东更加强烈,从而导致盈利的国有控股上市公司在资产注入之后业绩下降更多;而当政府控股上市公司被ST时,政府控股股东通过向国有控股上市公司注入资产"支持"上市公司的动机和力度比民营控股股东更加强烈,从而导致ST国有控股上市公司在资产注入之后业绩增长更快。     

Tunneling and propping up: An analysis of related party transactions by Chinese listed companies

We examine a sample of related party transactions between Chinese publicly listed firms and their controlling shareholders during 2001–2002. Minority shareholders in these firms seem to be subject to expropriation through tunneling but also gain from propping up. On balance, there seems to be more tunneling than propping up. Both types of firms have larger state ownership compared to the rest of the Chinese market but firms that are propped up are larger and have larger state ownership than firms subject to tunneling. Propped up firms are more likely to have foreign shareholders and to be cross-listed abroad compared to firms that are subject to tunneling. Propped up firms also tend to have worse operating performance in the fiscal year preceding the announcement of the related party transaction. Finally, we find that related party transactions representing tunneling are accompanied by significantly less information disclosure compared to related party transactions representing propping.     

Is refinancing solely motivated by misappropriation?

Misappropriation has become the accepted explanation for the refinancing behavior of Chinese listed companies, although the evidence in support of such an explanation is worthy of further discussion. We argue that if a planned refinancing exercise does not become a reality, post-refinancing performance depends on the initial motivation for refinancing, i.e. misappropriation or the maximization of firm value. The success and failure samples provided by the approval system of the Chinese securities market provide us with a natural laboratory in which to distinguish between these two possible motivations for the refinancing behavior of Chinese listed firms. The results show the post-refinancing performance of firms in the success sample to be significantly better than the performance in the failure sample, with the difference even more significant when larger agency costs or more financial constraints exist. These findings indicate that Chinese listed companies do not engage in refinancing for misappropriation purposes alone. Rather, refinancing is more likely to be a rational choice made in full consideration of the costs and benefits. This paper provides new ideas for reexamining the motivations for the refinancing behavior of China’s listed firms. It also has one major policy implication. That is, relaxing and/or simplifying the country’s refinancing regulations could help to improve the efficiency of resource allocation in the Chinese securities market.     

外部环境、内部制度与控股股东支持行为

控股股东支持是与掏空相反的一种利益输送行为,表现为控股股东用私人资源或其控制的资源支持处于困境中的上市公司。基于对近期文献的回顾与梳理,从外部环境、内部制度与支持方式三个角度研究控股股东支持行为。发现控股股东通常是在弱法律保护环境与中度经济冲击的背景下利用企业集团内部资本市场对其控制的上市公司进行包括负债、关联交易等在内的各种方式的利益输送。     

Tunneling or propping: Evidence from connected transactions in China

Friedman et al. (2003) develop a model in which, in equilibrium, controlling shareholders may choose either tunneling or propping of their listed companies depending on the magnitude of an adverse shock and the magnitude of the private benefits of control. In this paper, we employ connected transaction data from China to test the implications of their model. We hypothesize that, when listed companies are financially healthy (in financial distress), their controlling shareholders are more likely to conduct connected transactions to tunnel (prop up) their listed companies and the market reacts unfavorably (favorably) to the announcement of these transactions. Our empirical findings strongly support our hypotheses. We also find that all of the transaction types in our sample can be used for tunneling or propping depending on different financial situations of the firms. Finally, political connection is negatively associated with the announcement effect. Overall, our analysis supports Friedman et al.'s (2003) model by furnishing clear evidence for propping and tunneling to occur in the same company but at different times.     

Decisions Made by the Controlling Shareholder Under Financial Crisis

We employ a sample of 12,200 observations from 2,321 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in China between 2005 and 2013 to test five hypotheses. The empirical results show that the cost of tunneling and ownership structure play important roles in restraining incentives to expropriate firms. Financial crisis will reinforce the incentive to propping rather than tunneling with higher ownership concentration. Moreover, controlling shareholders of state-owned enterprises show a stronger motivation to prop up during crisis periods than do those of non-state-owned enterprises. The results indicate that both an entrenchment effect and a convergence-of-interest effect actually exist and vary according to ownership structure and macroeconomic circumstances.     

Controlling shareholders’ tunneling and executive compensation: Evidence from China

Conflict of interests between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders could affect executive compensation contracts. In this paper, we use data on Chinese listed companies and show that controlling shareholders’ tunneling reduces the pay-performance sensitivity of executive compensation. These results suggest that while incentive payment schemes are generally adopted in Chinese listed companies, controlling shareholders who obtain private benefits from listed companies have less incentive to strengthen the relationship between executive pay and firm performance.     

Controlling shareholder,expropriations and firm's leverage decision: Evidence from Chinese Non-tradable share reform

This paper examines the effect of excess control rights on the leverage decisions made by Chinese non-SOEs before and after the Non-tradable share reform (NTS reform). We find that firms with excess control rights have more excess leverage and their controlling shareholders use the resources for tunneling rather than investing in positive NPV projects. We also find that excess leverage in firms with excess control rights decreases and the market reaction to announcements of related party transactions are more positive after NTS reform. This confirms that tunneling by the controlling shareholders actually reduced. We argue that in emerging markets where legal protection for creditors and shareholders is weak, controlling shareholders borrow excess debt to tunnel through inter-corporate loans and related party transactions. Furthermore the privatization of these economies can reduce the controlling shareholders' tunneling activities and associated excess leverage which destroys firm value.     

Share pledges,tone of earnings communication conferences,and market reaction: evidence from China

We investigate how share pledging affects firms’ disclosures and influences investors in Chinese stock market. The tone of firm disclosures when there are shares pledged by controlling shareholders is more positive than that of firms without them. Considering tone inflation motivation and ability simultaneously, we find share pledge risk has an inverted U‐shaped relation with tone. Investors react positively to tone in short‐run windows, and firms with controlling shareholders’ pledges have higher stock returns for earnings communication conferences. We identify an inverted U‐shaped link between margin distance of controlling shareholders and stock returns for earnings communication conferences.     

大股东占款与上市公司盈利能力关系研究

大股东占款是我国上市公司治理亟待解决的问题之一。本文以1998—2003年的非金融类上市公司为样本,以大股东占款为研究对象,检验了上市公司盈利能力对大股东占款行为的影响。研究发现,上市公司上年盈利能力水平不同,大股东的占款行为不同。当以上市公司的主营业务利润为基础的总资产利润率(CROA)小于-3.14%时,大股东占款与上市公司盈利能力正相关,表现出大股东的资金掏空行为;当上市公司的CROA介于-3.14%~42.76%区间内时,大股东占款与上市公司盈利能力负相关,表现出大股东的资金支持行为;当上市公司的CROA高于42.76%时,大股东占款随着上市公司盈利能力的提高而增加,表现出大股东的资金掏空行为。     

控制权转移和资产重组：掏空抑或支持——来自中国资本市场的经验证据

本文通过对控制权转移以后上市公司资产重组行为的研究,揭示了资产重组对上市公司业绩的重要影响。并就控制性股东对上市公司“掏空”和“支持”行为特征进行了分析。文中显示,控制权转移以后上市公司的业绩和关联性资产重组有密切关系,上市公司业绩的变化,在一定程度上和控制性股东利用资产重组对上市公司进行“掏空”和“支持”相关联。文中揭示了影响控制性股东掏空或支持上市公司的因素,借此提出相关政策建议。     

Tunneling or Value Added? Evidence from Mergers by Korean Business Groups

We examine whether firms belonging to Korean business groups (chaebols) benefit from acquisitions they make or whether such acquisitions provide a way for controlling shareholders to increase their wealth by increasing the value of other group firms (tunneling). We find that when a chaebol-affiliated firm makes an acquisition, its stock price on average falls. While minority shareholders of a chaebol-affiliated firm making an acquisition lose, the controlling shareholder of that firm on average benefits because the acquisition enhances the value of other firms in the group. This evidence is consistent with the tunneling hypothesis.     

Corporate governance and firm value: Evidence from Chinese state-controlled listed firms

The association between corporate governance and firm value has been extensively studied in Chinese listed firms. Based on the characteristics of their ultimate shareholders, Chinese listed firms can be categorised as (1) central state-controlled, (2) local state-controlled or (3) non-state-controlled. Some scholars have described Chinese government policy as ‘zhuada fangxiao’, thus suggesting that the corporate governance mechanisms (CGMs) of central state-controlled listed firms (SCLFs) are better than those of local state-controlled listed firms. Therefore, this paper specifically examines the influence of CGMs on the value of central SCLFs and local SCLFs. Analysis of 2006 firm-year observations from 2007 to 2009 suggests that the aggregate ownership of other large shareholders and the remuneration of top executives exhibit different effects on firm value in central and local SCLFs. The results also provide evidence that there is no endogenous effect of firm value on the ownership of the largest shareholder in central and local SCLFs.     

掏空、财富效应与投资者保护——基于上市公司关联担保的经验证据

LLS(1999)指出,上市公司的主要代理问题并不是在管理者和股东之间,而是在大股东与小股东之间。国外众多研究提供了大股东掏空的证据。控股股东掏空是各国普遍存在的问题,但在投资者利益保护水平低的国家尤为严重。本文以2001—2004年我国非金融业A股上市公司为研究样本,实证研究了最恶劣的掏空形式之一——关联担保,得出的主要结论如下:(1)关联担保发生的概率、次数与相对金额从2001年到2004年呈递增趋势。(2)有关联担保的上市公司的Tobin-Q比无关联担保的公司平均低0．2,关联担保每增加一次, Tobin-Q下降0．09,关联担保率每增加一个百分点,Tobin-Q下降0．4;有关联担保的公司的年度异常回报率比无关联担保公司低3%,关联担保每增加一次,年度异常回报率下降2%,关联担保率每增加一个百分点,年度异常回报率下降9%。(3)第一大股东持股比例与关联担保显著负相关,股权制衡没有发挥对关联担保的抑制作用。(4)投资者利益保护水平与关联担保显著负相关。总之,本文发现上市公司的关联担保损害了投资者利益,提高投资者利益保护水平在一定程度上可以缓和控股股东的掏空。     

企业创新效率研究——来自股权质押的影响

本文结合我国实施创新驱动发展战略及股权质押频繁的现实背景,利用2006—2015年A股上市公司的数据,探讨控股股东的股权质押行为是否以及如何对企业的创新效率产生影响。研究表明,控股股东的股权质押行为会显著降低企业的创新效率。进一步地研究发现:(1)当第二类代理问题越严重,或质押风险越大时,控股股东股权质押行为抑制企业创新效率的作用越明显,表明控股股东股权质押伴随的掏空效应及短视效应,是导致二者负向关系的重要原因;(2)掏空效应和短视效应在影响控股股东股权质押与企业创新效率的关系上存在显著的替代效应;(3)研发投入强度下降时,控股股东股权质押对企业创新效率产生的负面效应更强。本文的研究不仅丰富了企业创新效率影响因素及控股股东股权质押经济后果的相关文献,对于规范控股股东股权质押行为,提高企业创新能力,实现创新驱动发展战略,也具有重要的启示意义。     

Does the market understand the ex ante risk of expropriation by controlling shareholders?

We examine how the market values operating assets in the presence of time-varying ex ante risk that these assets may be tunneled away. We analyze pairs of Chinese publicly listed firms and their non-listed parents and examine the market valuation of current assets (cash balances, trade receivables, receivables due from the controlling shareholders, inventories) and fixed assets on the publicly listed firm's balance sheet. Our results show that in periods when the risk of tunneling from the publicly listed firm to its controlling shareholder increases, operating assets that are easy to tunnel (cash and receivables due from the controlling shareholder) are valued at larger discounts, while operating assets that are not easy to tunnel (trade receivables, inventories, fixed assets) are not valued at such discounts.     

Entrenched controlling shareholders and the performance consequences of corporate diversification in Taiwan

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the value/performance effects of corporate diversification in an emerging market. Prior evidence on this issue is still mixed. The present study adds the role of entrenched controlling shareholders into this issue. We argue that when controlling shareholders have larger excess board seats control rights, they have higher ability and incentive to expropriate minority shareholders through corporate diversification. Using a sample of firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 2003, we find that controlling shareholders’ excess board seats control is negatively associated with the market valuation of corporate diversification. Consistently, we also document that highly diversified firms run by more entrenched controlling shareholders have lower future financial performance than otherwise similar firms. Overall, our findings imply that corporate diversification is not necessarily harmful or beneficial for firms. We conclude that the agency problem arising from the excess board seats control rights owned by controlling shareholders is an influential factor leading to negative performance consequences with regard to firm diversification.     

股权分置、资金侵占与上市公司现金股利政策

上市公司控股股东是否直接或以现金股利方式间接侵占公司资金一直是困绕学术界和实务界的共同性问题。与以往的研究不同,本文发现现金股利和资金侵占同是大股东实现其股权价值最大化的手段,二者具有可替代性,协整检验的结果也表明二者不是弱外生变量。本文通过联立方程模型将上市公司现金股利政策与资金侵占结合起来考虑,发现国有控股的公司发放的现金股利水平在前一阶段最高;国有法人控股的公司,现金股利发放的水平在后两阶段最高,但资金被侵占的程度最低;社会法人控股股东对现金股利的偏好与国有法人控股股东无异,但其控股的公司资金被侵占的程度最为严重;国有股控股的公司,其资金被侵占的程度介于二者之间。本文通过对公司股利政策的连续考察发现随着证监会推进上市公司改革的逐步深入,非流通股控股股东减少了对上市公司资金的直接侵占,但现金股利形式却变得越来越普遍。     

Do shareholders really matter for firm performance? Evidence from the ownership characteristics of Italian listed companies

This paper studies the impact of the features of the shareholder base on the performance of a large sample of Italian listed firms between 2007 and 2019, both within and across firms. We expand the empirical evidence on the relation between shareholder type and different dimensions of firm performance by dividing shareholders into six categories, and further differentiating between domestic and foreign investors. We provide extensive evidence on the relation between firm performance and different types of shareholders, showing how diverse performance metrics are correlated with the voting rights of specific types of shareholders. Consistent with previous studies, the picture that emerges from our analysis shows that the ownership structure of Italian listed companies is characterized by a high degree of concentration. In this context, we find that ownership concentration or the presence of a controlling shareholder is in general associated with better performance. Moreover, a positive relation exists between diverse firm performance metrics and the voting rights of family shareholders, founders and foreign investors, while government ownership is detrimental in the short-term.     

Propping through related party transactions

Based on a sample of Chinese listed firms from 1998 through 2002, this paper documents that listed firms prop up earnings by using abnormal related sales to their controlling owners. Such related sales propping is more prevalent among state-owned firms and in regions with weaker economic institutions. We also find that these abnormal related sales are not entirely accrual-based but can be cash-based as well, and they serve as a substitute rather than complement to accruals management for meeting earnings targets. Since these abnormal related sales can be cash-based, there is significant cash transfer via related lending from listed firms back to controlling owners after the propping. However, no cash transfer via related lending is found to be associated with accruals earnings management.