This study examines the effect of customer concentration on corporate ESG greenwashing. Drawing a sample from Chinese listed firms during 2009-2022, we find that firms with higher customer concentration are more likely to engage in ESG greenwashing, catering the high ESG preferences of major customers. Financial constraints and asset specificity prompt firms to rely on ESG tone management instead of real investments. Strong internal and external governance mechanisms, as well as close relationships with government customers, can mitigate these effects. Finally, such greenwashing behavior exaggerates equity mispricing. These results provide novel evidence on customer concentration as a key driver of corporate ESG greenwashing.

The random inspection of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is an important policy for practicing "standardizing regulatory behavior and innovating management modes". This study investigates how CSRC's random affect capital market information efficiency from the perspective of stock price synchronicity. Using a sample of China's non-financial A-share firms from 2013 to 2019, we find that random inspections significantly reduced the stock price synchronicity of inspected firms. Random inspections could increase the probability of releasing management earnings forecasts, media coverage and investor attention, and thereby improve information efficiency. Further study finds that the effect of random inspections on stock price synchronicity is stronger for non-state controlled firms, districts with more listed firms, and districts with more transparent government. This study enriches the literature on the consequences of random inspections and extends our knowledge of the relationship between regulatory innovations and the information efficiency of the capital market.

Transaction-based government-business relationship (GBR) can be established when the government serves as a company's customer. This study investigates the consequences and mechanisms of this type of GBR. We find that companies with government customers receive more subsidies, due to both signalling effect and rent-seeking effect. As China's anti-corruption campaign tries to disconnect relation-based GBR and eliminate rent-seeking, transaction-based GBR survives. In the post anti-corruption campaign period, the rent-seeking effect of the transaction-based GBR weakens, but the signalling effect remains, and the government subsidy efficiency improves. This study sheds lights on the economics of transaction-based GBR which is largely ignored in the existing literature and reveals the effects of the interactions of anti-corruption and business transactions.

Ownership type, legal system evolution and their interaction significantly affect the incentives and behaviors of independent directors. We use the 2019 Securities Law revision as an exogenous shock to examine how state-owned enterprises (SOEs) versus non-SOEs and their independent directors respond to variations in regulatory compliance risk. Following the revision, SOEs are more likely to purchase directors' and officers' liability insurance to provide job security for independent directors. Non-SOEs are more likely to compensate for independent directors' fulfillment risk by increasing salaries and their independent directors are more likely to resign to avoid litigation risk. The coping strategies for SOEs, non-SOEs and independent directors are dynamic under different compliance risk stages and are affected by firm-level and director-level characteristics. (c) 2024 Sun Yat-sen University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

Metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma is associated with poor survival and unsatisfactory treatment outcomes. Therefore, new immunotherapeutic methods are urgently required. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4), a new therapeutic target for rhabdomyosarcoma, plays a crucial role in its onset and development. This study aimed to generate FGFR4 single-chain variable fragment-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells without causing evident toxicity and incorporating an inducible caspase-9 (iCasp9) suicide gene system to enhance their safety. FGFR4 antigen expression was evaluated in normal murine tissues, normal human tissues, and specimens from patients with rhabdomyosarcoma. Combined with a 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain, a CD3ζ signaling domain, and an iCasp9 suicide gene, CAR-T cells with an FGFR4-specific single-chain variable fragment were developed. The specific cytotoxic effects, T-cell proliferation, cytokine secretion, apoptosis induction by chemical dimerization (AP20187), and toxicity of FGFR4 CAR-T cells were investigated in vitro and in vivo. FGFR4 CAR-T cells generated a variety of immune-promoting cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 2, and interferon γ, and displayed effective cytotoxic activity against FGFR4-overexpressing rhabdomyosarcoma cells in vitro. FGFR4 CAR-T cells were relatively effective against FGFR4-overexpressing rhabdomyosarcoma, with tumor regression and poor survival in a subcutaneous xenograft model. The iCasp9 gene was incorporated into FGFR4 CAR-T cells and it was demonstrated that effective and reliable suicide gene activity depends on the administration of AP20187. By making use of the cross-reaction of FGFR4 CAR-T cells with murine FGFR4 in a syngeneic tumor model, this study found that FGFR4 CAR-T cells could regulate the growth of tumors without evident toxicity. Our study demonstrates that FGFR4 is a prospective target for CAR-T cell therapy in rhabdomyosarcoma without serious on-target off-tumor toxicity. FGFR4 CAR-T cells with the iCasp9 suicide gene system as a safety switch to limit toxicity may broaden the clinical applications of cellular therapy.

China and Cambodia are good neighbors, friends, brothers, and partners. Their traditional good-neighborliness and friendship, which dated back to the establishment of diplomatic relations, have evolved into a comprehensive partnership and then a comprehensive strategic partnership. Now the two countries are endeavoring to build a strategic community with a shared future.

本文基于会计信息系统论,研究数字技术在商业实践中的应用如何影响会计系统生产具有前瞻性的会计信息.研究发现,企业数字化提高了业绩预告的准确度和精确度.其作用机制在于:企业数字化通过减弱经营风险,降低了会计系统预估业绩的难度;通过提升企业信息归集和处理能力,为会计系统预估业绩提供高质量的数据基础;通过优化企业内部控制,抑制了业绩预估中的人为操纵;这三者综合导致业绩预告更加可靠.进一步研究表明,企业数字化在增强业绩预告可靠性的同时,还提高了其及时性和市场反应强度,表明其决策有用性的提升.最后,本文区分企业数字化的类型,发现数字化建设有助于企业生产可靠的业绩预告信息,而数字化应用的影响并不显著.总体来看,本文研究结果表明,随着实体经济的数字化转型,会计系统的运行将更加高效,会计信息及时性与可靠性不可兼得的局面被逐渐打破,会计信息质量得到全面提升.

This paper explores the influence of the State Capital Investing and Operating Company（SCIOC） pilot reform on SOE bailout using a staggered differencein-differences model. Based on a sample of listed SOEs during 2011–2018, we find that when the real controllers of listed SOEs enter the list of SCIOCs, soft budget constraints are alleviated and listed subsidiaries are less likely to become distressed. Mechanism tests indicate that SCIOCs help distressed firms through exiting the market, reducing bank loans, enhancing corporate governance, and improving operating efficiency. Heterogeneity tests show that the effect of SCIOC establishment is more significant in central and western regions, in public welfare and special function industries, for central SCIOCs,for state capital investing companies, when firms are organized in more layers,and for firms that engage in M＆As. The empirical results show that the implementation of SCIOCs benefits both micro-enterprise development and state capital layout optimization.

PurposeThis paper aims to study the effect of the establishment of bankruptcy courts on bond issuance market. This paper helps to predict that the introduction of bankruptcy courts in China can mitigate price distortions caused by the implicit government guarantees and promote the development of the high-risk bond market.Design/methodology/approachThis paper exploits the staggered introduction of bankruptcy courts across cities to implement a differences-in-differences strategy on bond issuance data. Using bonds issued in China between 2018 and 2020, the impact of bankruptcy courts on the bond issuance market can be analyzed.FindingsThis paper reveals that bond issuance credit spreads increase and is more sensitive to firm size, profitability and downside risk of issuance entity after the introduction of bankruptcy courts. It also reveals a substantive increase in bond issuance quantity and a decrease in issuer credit ratings following the establishment of bankruptcy courts. In addition, the increase of credit spreads is more prominent for publicly traded bonds, those whose issuers located in provinces with lower judicial confidence, bonds issued by SOEs and bonds with stronger government guarantees. Finally, the role of bankruptcy courts is more pronounced in regions with higher marketization.Originality/valueThis paper relates to previous studies that investigate the impact of laws and institutions on external financing. It helps provide new evidence to this literature on how improvements of efficiency and quality in bankruptcy enforcements relate to the marketization of bond issuance. The results provide further evidence on legal institutions and bond financing.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are both the economic and political bases of the Chinese Communist Party (the Party) and the Chinese state. The overarching principle of SOE reform is to firmly implement the Party’s leadership and the modern enterprise system. This principle creates a political governance system in China’s SOEs—a Party-dominated governance system characterized by Party leadership, state ownership, Party cadre management, Party participation in corporate decision-making, and intra-Party supervision. This survey explains the logic of political governance in China’s SOEs, presents the evolution and current practices of each element of the system, and discusses findings from both academic research and the field.

本文考察控股股东股权质押对并购业绩承诺的影响.研究发现,在控股股东股权质押期(或者控股股东股权质押比例较高时),上市公司签订并购业绩承诺的可能性更大、签订的业绩承诺额更高、承诺期更长.业绩承诺能够提升股票价格、支撑并购溢价,起到市值管理的作用;股价下跌的上市公司利用业绩承诺进行市值管理的动机更强.控股股东股权质押期间签订业绩承诺后,会在业绩承诺期通过正向盈余管理努力实现业绩承诺,以避免股价下跌.然而,控股股东质押期利用业绩承诺进行市值管理未能实现"价值创造"目标.从异质性检验看,控股股东的控制力能够增强股权质押与业绩承诺之间的正向效应,而证监会对重大资产重组的重点监管能在一定程度上发挥治理作用.本文的研究发现符合股票价格的反馈效应理论,其研究结论为监管机构强化对高业绩承诺现象的监管提供了理论依据和现实启示.

目前,各国会计准则制定机构正在重新审视商誉的会计处理方法.基于这一背景,本文从自创商誉对并购商誉减值的"缓冲"效应出发,探讨年度减值测试法存在的问题.在通过构建理论模型来阐释自创商誉"缓冲"效应形成机理的基础上,本文以供应商关系管理为研究情境进行实证检验.实证结果表明,集中的供应商体系所产生的高自创商誉显著地降低了公司的商誉减值风险,并且这一作用在法制环境较差地区、制造业中以及公司市场势力较强时更加明显,支持"缓冲"效应假说.本文的研究结论为讨论商誉会计问题提供了重要的经验证据.

以华晨集团债券信用评级事件为案例分析对象,考察合并报表和母公司报表的适用性差异及各自的决策优势,进而探究对"母弱子强型"控股集团进行债券信用评级时选择母公司报表的必要性.研究发现:相比合并报表提供的信息,从解决评级主体和偿债主体错配的角度来看,母公司报表对评价发债主体的偿债能力和信用风险更具有针对性,能够为评级机构做出更加客观的评级预测提供有效的决策信息.同时,还应当结合母公司对下属子公司的实际控制能力、集团整体的资金管理模式和母公司财务特征等因素做综合判断.

使用手工搜集的1999-2015年A股非金融类上市公司持股金融机构数据,考察持股不同类型的金融机构对实业企业投资支出-投资机会敏感性以及非效率投资的影响.结果 表明:持股金融机构有助于提高企业的投资支出-投资机会敏感性,提升企业的资本配置效率;持股金融机构有助于抑制企业的非效率投资;持股不同类型的金融机构均能够在一定程度上缓解企业投资不足,相反仅有当企业投资于除银行、证券公司、保险公司和财务公司以外的其他类型金融机构时,才会对过度投资产生抑制作用.进一步分析显示,基于持股金融机构深度和广度视角的考察也支持上述结论.此外,在将样本企业按业绩高低分组的基础上进行的分析还发现,只有在经营业绩较高组,产融结合才能对过度投资产生显著的抑制作用.

本文研究上市公司违规过程中银行信贷风险控制的动态演变过程,并结合关系文化探讨正式制度和非正式制度在此过程中的相互作用关系.按照公司违规发生、违规处罚公告两个时间节点,本文将整个违规过程划分为违规之前、违规期间和违规监管后三个阶段,以2003-2015年A股上市公司为研究样本,考察上市公司违规过程中的借款条件变化情况,以此探讨银行是否能够获取以及如何利用私有信息和公开信息进行信贷风险控制.研究结果表明:银行具有一定的获取私有信息的能力,在上市公司违规行为被监管公告前就已经提高借款利率,并通过缩短借款期限及提高短期借款担保要求等非价格措施进行信贷风险控制;当违规行为被监管后,银行会继续实施这些严格的非价格风险控制措施.进一步研究发现,关系文化弱化了银行在公司违规期间的信贷风险控制效率:在公司违规期间,公司所处地区的关系文化程度越高,债务契约越宽松;而当公司违规行为被监管后,关系文化的影响不再显著;而且,关系文化的作用因公司产权性质的不同而具有较强的异质性;同时,违规行为越严重,银行所采用的债务契约越严苛.本文比较系统地从债权人视角研究了证券市场监管的经济后果,为我们更好地理解银行的信贷风险管理行为提供了经验证据支持.

This study investigates the peer effect in the initial recognition of goodwill. We find that firms imitate their peers in the initial recognition of goodwill. The higher the tendency for imitation, the higher the proportion of goodwill recognized. Imitation behavior in the initial recognition of goodwill cannot be explained by information acquisition or rivalry motivations. Instead, we find evidence that managers' opportunistic motivations explain the peer effect in the initial recognition of goodwill and the overestimation of goodwill arising from imitation tendencies. Executive overconfidence weakens the peer effect but exacerbates the overestimation of goodwill caused by imitation tendencies. Finally, the higher the imitation tendency, the greater the probability and amount of goodwill impairment in the future. This further confirms that the peer effect leads to overestimation of goodwill. The findings of this study enrich the literature on goodwill and provide insightful empirical evidence for regulating goodwill accounting. The results show that the conservatism principle should be reinforced in the initial recognition of goodwill.

BackgroundNew immunotherapeutic approaches are urgently needed for metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, which is associated with poor survival and unsatisfactory treatment outcomes. Platelet‐derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) plays an essential role in the onset and development of rhabdomyosarcoma and is a new potential therapeutic target for rhabdomyosarcoma. The objective of this study was to generate humanized PDGFRA single‐chain variable fragment‐based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)‐modified T cells (CAR‐T cells) against PDGFRA‐positive rhabdomyosarcoma.MethodsPDGFRA antigen expression was evaluated in specimens from patients with rhabdomyosarcoma. CAR‐T cells containing a PDGFRA‐specific single‐chain variable fragment was developed in combination with a 4‐1BB costimulatory domain and a CD3‐ζ signaling domain. Specific cytotoxic effects of PDGFRA CAR‐T cells, T‐cell proliferation, and cytokine secretion were investigated in vitro and in vivo.ResultsPDGFRA CAR‐T cells produced large amounts of immune‐promoting cytokines, including interleukin 2, tumor necrosis factor α, and interferon γ, and exhibited efficient cytotoxic activity toward human PDGFRA‐overexpressing rhabdomyosarcoma cells in vitro. In a subcutaneous xenograft model, CAR‐T cells were more effective against PDGFRA‐overexpressing rhabdomyosarcoma than against rhabdomyosarcoma with low PDGFRA expression in terms of tumor regression and patient survival. Expanded CAR‐T cells also were detected in peripheral blood.ConclusionsThe current study demonstrates for the first time that the PDGFRA antigen is a promising target for CAR‐T–cell therapy in rhabdomyosarcoma and likely in a wide spectrum of other PDGFRA‐expressing cancers.

<span id="ChDivSummary" name="ChDivSummary" class="abstract-text">审计师要求公司及时、充分地确认商誉减值的稳健行为（商誉审计稳健性）,这有助于提高公司商誉信息的透明度。从审计行为的经济动因出发,研究了异常审计费用对商誉审计稳健性的影响。研究发现:（1）随着异常审计费用的增加,审计师在商誉审计中表现得更加稳健;（2）异常审计费用对商誉审计稳健性的正向影响在异常审计费用为正时更加明显,并且不能由审计师议价能力所解释。机制分析表明,异常审计费用抑制了公司的盈余管理活动,从而促使公司及时、充分地确认商誉减值。研究还发现正常审计费用对商誉审计稳健性也存在正向影响,审计费用整体上与商誉审计稳健性正相关。总体来看,研究结果支持审计费用的"成本观"。较高的审计收费能够促使会计师事务所提高审计投入,这有助于其识别并抑制公司规避商誉减值的行为,进而提供更为稳健的审计结果。</span>

This study examines a channel of the government's helping hand, the government subsidies for firms exposed to stock price crash risk. Using data on China's A-share non-financial listed companies from 2008 to 2016, we find that higher crash risk exposure induces more government subsidy. Compared with non-state-controlled companies, state-controlled companies receive government subsidies in a more timely manner. Further study finds that companies with closer relationships with the government, located in regions with a more cordial politics-business environment, and are pivotal to the regional economy, receive more government subsidies facing stock price risk exposure. The study also finds that companies mainly receive economic development-oriented government subsidies; and the government subsidy, in turn, helps to mitigate the negative impact of the stock price risk exposure on their borrowing capacity. This paper enriches the studies on the economic consequences of crash risk and expands the research on interactions between the government and the market.