Financing for sustainability: Empirical analysis of green bond premium and issuer heterogeneity

Abstract

More recently, investors’ preference for green bonds is of particular interest for researchers. The possible non-pecuniary motive in sustainable finance can be identified by the green bond premium. But no consensus has been achieved owing to differences in samples and market settings. This paper specifically focuses on the estimation of the green bond premium in China. We introduced three issuance motivation theories to explain the drivers of green premium and convinced them through a set of empirical tests. The propensity score matching method was employed to claim that compared with matched conventional bonds, green bonds are priced at an average negative premium of 7.8bps, implying that green projects may be issued at a lower cost. Considering that a financial group has a higher negative premium than a corporate group, green financing for sustainable development is still led by indirect finance. Furthermore, empirical results convince that a negative premium is pronounced for state-owned enterprises and varies across the financial and corporate groups. Central SOEs have more advantage in raising funds than local SOEs. In addition, the effect of ownership on the green premium will significantly change if bond issues with a third-party verification. The role of verification is important in reducing information asymmetry and avoiding greenwashing behavior. We suggest that financial resources need to be properly allocated to the real enterprises through third-party verification or government supportive measures.