Limited Partnership Agreement Structure and Financing Constraint: Evidences from China’s Private Listed Companies

Abstract

Abstract: The new economic environment has given rise to new equity structures, which may also lead to more serious information asymmetry and financing difficulties. Based on the samples of private A-share listed companies in China from 2014 to 2021, this paper examines the impact of the limited partnership agreement architecture integrated into corporate enterprises on corporate financing constraintsand its mechanism. The results show that the limited partnership agreement architecture can alleviate the financing constraints faced by private enterprises. The test of the internal transmission mechanism indicates that the limited partnership agreement structure has reduced the company’s operational risk, improved the company’s performance, increased the company’s cash dividend ratio, and thus alleviated financing constraints. Further analysis reveals that during the growth and decline periods, due to more severe agency issues and stronger financing needs, the limited partnership agreement structure has a more significant mitigating effect on financing constraints. The enterprises listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board have high profitability uncertainty, high risks, and high degree of information asymmetry faced by investors. The limited partnership agreement structure can more effectively alleviate the financing constraints. In addition, if the actual controller concurrently serves as the chairman of the board or general manager, then the higher the degree of separation between the two powers, the more significant the role of the limited partnership agreement structure in alleviating financing constraints, which confirms that the limited partnership agreement structure can alleviate the agency problem of hollowing out by the actual controller.The above research results have expanded our understanding of the new equity structure in China’s capital market from a micro perspective, providing new ideas for further improvement of the financing capacity of private enterprises.

Key words: limited partnership agreement structure, financing constraints, equity structure, actual controller, agency issue

CLC Number:

LIU Yu-wei, MA Sheng. Limited Partnership Agreement Structure and Financing Constraint: Evidences from China’s Private Listed Companies[J]. Contemporary Finance & Economics, 2023, 0(11): 80-92.

References

[1] Levin J., Tadelis S.Profit Sharing and the Role of Professional Partnerships[J]. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2005, 120(1): 131-171.
[2] 倪宣明,沈佳瑜,赵慧敏,周骏. 基于讨价还价的私募基金机制比较研究[J]. 中国管理科学,2022,(2):69-79.
[3] 陈德球,胡晴. 数字经济时代下的公司治理研究:范式创新与实践前沿[J]. 管理世界,2022,(6):213-240.
[4] 郑志刚,李邈,金天,黄继承. 有限合伙协议构架与上市公司治理[J]. 管理世界,2022,(7):184-201.
[5] McCahery J. A., Vermeulen E. P. M. Limited Partnership Reform in the United Kingdom: A Competitive, Venture Capital Oriented Business Form[J]. European Business Organization Law Review (EBOR), 2004, 5(1): 61-85.
[6] Jiang F.X., Kim K. A. Corporate Governance in China: A Survey[J]. Review of Finance, 2020, 24(4): 733-772.
[7] Jin L., Myers S.C. R² around the World: New Theory and New Tests[J]. Journal of Financial Economics, 2006, 79(2): 257-292.
[8] Dichev I.D., Graham J. R., Harvey C. R., Rajgopal S. Earnings Quality: Evidence from the Field[J]. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2013, 56(2-3): 1-33.
[9] Myers S.C., Majluf N. S. Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have Information that Investors Do Not Have[J]. Journal of Financial Economics, 1984, 13(2): 187-221.
[10] Fazzari S.M., Hubbard R. G., Petersen B. C. Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Are Useful: A Comment on Kaplan and Zingales[J]. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2000, 115(2): 695-705.
[11] Fazzari S.M., Athey M. J. Asymmetric Information, Financing Constraints, and Investment[J]. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 1987, 69(3): 481-487.
[12] Lin C., Ma Y., Xuan Y.H. Ownership Structure and Financial Constraints: Evidence from a Structural Estimation[J]. Journal of Financial Economics, 2011, 102(2): 416-431.
[13] 唐跃军,左晶晶. 创业企业治理模式——基于动态股权治理平台的研究[J]. 南开管理评论,2020,(6):136-147.
[14] Modigliani F., Miller M.H. The Cost of Capital, Corporation Finance and the Theory of Investment[J]. The American Economic Review, 1958, 48(3): 261-297.
[15] Baek J.S., Kang J. K., Lee I. Business Groups and Tunneling: Evidence from Private Securities Offerings by Korean Chaebols[J]. The Journal of Finance, 2006, 61(5): 2415-2449.
[16] 周业安,韩梅. 上市公司内部资本市场研究——以华联超市借壳上市为例分析[J]. 管理世界,2003,(11):118-125+143.
[17] 吴秋生,黄贤环. 财务公司的职能配置与集团成员上市公司融资约束缓解[J]. 中国工业经济,2017,(9):156-173.
[18] 张纯,吕伟. 机构投资者、终极产权与融资约束[J]. 管理世界,2007,(11):119-126.
[19] 黄宏斌,翟淑萍,孙雪娇. 自媒体信息披露与融资约束[J]. 当代财经,2020,(7):87-99.
[20] 王贞洁,吕志军. 绿色金融、分析师关注与新能源企业融资纾困[J]. 当代财经,2022,(9):52-63.
[21] Cull R., Li W., Sun B., Xu L.C. Government Connections and Financial Constraints: Evidence from a Large Representative Sample of Chinese Firms[J]. Journal of Corporate Finance, 2015, 32: 271-294.
[22] 牛鹏,郑明波,郭继文. 营商环境如何影响企业投资[J]. 当代财经,2022,(1):90-101.
[23] 王松奇,丁蕊. 创业投资企业的组织形式与代理成本[J]. 金融研究,2001,(12):73-80.
[24] Kaplan S.N., Zingales L. Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?[J]. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1997, 112(1): 169-215.
[25] 刘诗源,林志帆,冷志鹏. 税收激励提高企业创新水平了吗?——基于企业生命周期理论的检验[J]. 经济研究,2020,(6):105-121.
[26] 潘越,宁博,纪翔阁,戴亦一. 民营资本的宗族烙印:来自融资约束视角的证据[J]. 经济研究,2019,(7):94-110.
[27] Dickinson V.Cash Flow Patterns as a Proxy for Firm Life Cycle[J]. The Accounting Review, 2011, 86(6): 1969-1994.
[28] 李云鹤,李湛,唐松莲. 企业生命周期、公司治理与公司资本配置效率[J]. 南开管理评论,2011, (3):110-121.
[29] 吕怀立,贾琬娇,李婉丽. 核准制保荐经历与科创板IPO定价——来自保荐代表人的经验证据[J]. 会计研究,2021,(5):95-106.
[30] Jiang G.H., Lee C. M. C., Yue H. Tunneling through Intercorporate Loans: The China Experience[J]. Journal of Financial Economics, 2010, 98(1): 1-20.