Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?

Using a sample of listed Chinese firms from 2007 to 2020, we investigate the governance implications of cross-ownership in corporate bond markets. We find that cross-ownership significantly reduces bond issuance spreads, suggesting that synergistic governance effects outweigh potential collusion ris...

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Main Authors: Shangkun Liang, Sichao Wang, Kaijuan Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:China Journal of Accounting Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000176
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author Shangkun Liang
Sichao Wang
Kaijuan Gao
author_facet Shangkun Liang
Sichao Wang
Kaijuan Gao
author_sort Shangkun Liang
collection DOAJ
description Using a sample of listed Chinese firms from 2007 to 2020, we investigate the governance implications of cross-ownership in corporate bond markets. We find that cross-ownership significantly reduces bond issuance spreads, suggesting that synergistic governance effects outweigh potential collusion risks. This effect operates through two channels: reducing information asymmetry between shareholders and creditors and lowering firm risk. The effect is stronger when cross-owners hold shares in more peer firms and retain shares longer but weaker for state-owned enterprises, long-term bonds and firms with robust information intermediaries. Our findings contribute to the corporate governance literature by demonstrating how cross-ownership enhances creditor protection, providing insights into optimizing ownership structures for debt financing, particularly in emerging markets with inadequate institutional monitoring.
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series China Journal of Accounting Research
spelling doaj-art-e7728ca4801543cca73454ce3bddd89d2025-08-20T02:58:30ZengElsevierChina Journal of Accounting Research1755-30912025-06-0118210042110.1016/j.cjar.2025.100421Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?Shangkun Liang0Sichao Wang1Kaijuan Gao2Central University of Finance and Economics, China; Corresponding author at: South Xueyuan Road 39, Haidian District, Beijing, China.Central University of Finance and Economics, ChinaHunan University, ChinaUsing a sample of listed Chinese firms from 2007 to 2020, we investigate the governance implications of cross-ownership in corporate bond markets. We find that cross-ownership significantly reduces bond issuance spreads, suggesting that synergistic governance effects outweigh potential collusion risks. This effect operates through two channels: reducing information asymmetry between shareholders and creditors and lowering firm risk. The effect is stronger when cross-owners hold shares in more peer firms and retain shares longer but weaker for state-owned enterprises, long-term bonds and firms with robust information intermediaries. Our findings contribute to the corporate governance literature by demonstrating how cross-ownership enhances creditor protection, providing insights into optimizing ownership structures for debt financing, particularly in emerging markets with inadequate institutional monitoring.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000176D42G12G32
spellingShingle Shangkun Liang
Sichao Wang
Kaijuan Gao
Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?
China Journal of Accounting Research
D42
G12
G32
title Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?
title_full Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?
title_fullStr Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?
title_full_unstemmed Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?
title_short Cross-owners and bond issue pricing: coordination or collusion?
title_sort cross owners and bond issue pricing coordination or collusion
topic D42
G12
G32
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000176
work_keys_str_mv AT shangkunliang crossownersandbondissuepricingcoordinationorcollusion
AT sichaowang crossownersandbondissuepricingcoordinationorcollusion
AT kaijuangao crossownersandbondissuepricingcoordinationorcollusion