Deregulation of Short Selling and Equity Financing Costs —A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on Margin Trading

Abstract

The high cost of financing is one of the reasons that restrict the development of the real economy. The soundness and development of the capital market can help reduce the cost of corporate financing. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of the margin financing and short selling system, this paper takes A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2020 as research samples, and uses a difference in difference model to study the impact and internal mechanism of relaxation of short selling on the cost of equity financing of enterprises. The research indicates that the reduction of short-selling control is significantly negatively related to the company's equity financing cost, and the relaxation of short selling can reduce the cost of equity financing by improving the company's transparency. Further research indicates that the relaxation of short selling restrictions has a more significant effect on reducing the cost of equity financing in private companies and companies with a high level of analyst coverage. This paper enriches the literature in related fields such as margin trading and short selling, equity financing cost, and also provides some theoretical references for government department to strengthen the supervision of financial markets and promote financial system reform.