Macroeconomic News and Risk Exposure to Foreign Exchange Rate Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper estimates the exchange rate exposure of Chinese listed firms across industries and tests whether their risk exposure to foreign exchange rates is shaped by macroeconomic news. Using a sample of 2321 Chinese listed firms from 2007 to 2020, we use six alternative models to estimate firms’ exposure to foreign exchange risk and their variations following macroeconomic news. We find that the risk exposure to foreign exchange rates significantly responds to macroeconomic news. The response is larger to news about GDP and international trade, and the response is particularly strong during the times of the Global Financial Crisis, the US-China trade war and the outbreak of COVID-19. Across different currencies, firms are more sensitive to the US dollar exchange rate risk. Across different industries, firms in technology-intensive industries are more sensitive to foreign exchange risk. Overall, the findings in this paper shed light upon the risk management of multinational firms in emerging markets.