IPO suspension, financing uncertainty and corporate tax avoidance

Abstract

The acquisition of external financing is an important factor affecting the development of enterprises and even the economic growth of a country. However, changes in the external environment often expose enterprises to uncertainties in obtaining external financing. Taking China’s initial public offering (IPO) suspension policy as a setting, this paper examines the impact of the associated external financing uncertainty on firms. The empirical results show that firms that are unable to secure planned financing due to the IPO suspension policy engage in greater tax avoidance activities than successful IPOs during the IPO suspension period; this phenomenon is mainly concentrated in firms that are not state-owned, have no venture capital or private equity backing, have lower debt servicing capacity and have lower tax avoidance risk. Moreover, the tax avoidance activities of enterprises positively influence their fixed asset investment and innovation investment during the IPO suspension period. Evidence based on IPO price performance indicates that investors respond positively to firms’ tax avoidance practices during IPO suspensions.