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It is well-known that engineering is a key profession for both economic and social development. This is as true for China as it is for other countries which are in the process of development. However, what are the economic incentives for young people to enter the profession today? Currently, there are many studies of the rate of return to educational investment, but recent empirical studies of the rate of return to educational investment for engineers are uncommon. This is true generally, but especially for contemporary China. This is because it is difficult to obtain high-quality and representative sample data about engineers. This paper uses the data of the Chinese Family Panel Studies, 2010, and applies a Mincerian income function to estimate the rate of return to education for engineers who work in the private sector in urban China. The empirical results show that the rate of return for engineers is 12.3%, which is an impressive figure. It is in accordance with the current supply and demand of the Chinese labour market which requires many engineers to carry out construction and maintenance projects given China's continuing industrialisation, modernisation and urbanisation. However, the empirical results also show that compared with the rate of return to education for professional and technical personnel who are employed in business economics and finance, the rate of return for engineers is significantly lower. This may explain why in China today the attraction of engineering education for talented young people is declining, with more and more students choosing business economics and finance as their first choices of major and career, rather than engineering as in the past.

A portfolio selection model with return as triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number is developed in this study to assess and select portfolios on China Stock Exchange. Although the portfolio selection has been widely investigated, and most studies have regarded return and risk as the main decisive criteria, there are many uncertainties in the financial market, such as social, political and human psychological factors, which makes it difficult for us to describe the risks in line with empirical evidence. To fill this gap, first, a literature review was conducted to clarify the current situation and shortcomings of portfolio selection. Second, the triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number was used to fuzzify the coefficients of the objective function and the constraints in the portfolio model. Third, the triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number model was transformed into a linear programming model by using the selected exact ranking function, and the model was solved by MATLAB. Finally, the historical monthly returns of 10 stocks in China's Stock Exchange from December 2017 to November 2020, lasting 36 months, were selected to demonstrate the model. The results indicate that the portfolio selection model with triangular intuitionistic fuzzy number can better meet the uncertainty of the real securities market, and more reasonable investment decision guidance can be provided for investors. Besides, the limitations of this study are pointed out, and implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind power integration is a grand challenge due to the volatility, randomness and intermittency This work presents a wind-thermal-electrolysis-battery (WTEB) hybrid energy system designed to integrate large-scale offshore wind energy and reduce curtailment. The system composes of offshore wind farms (OWF), thermal power plants (TPP), electrolysis station, battery bank. The Qingzhou (geographic name) I-VII offshore wind farms (5000 MW) and the Yangxi (geographic name) coal-fired power plant units #5, #6 (2 × 1240 MW) are taken as a case study. The OWF is the indispensable generator and the renewable fraction increases with integration level. The TPP adjusts the load ratio to meet the changing net load. The electrolysis station consumes the excess electricity and the battery bank time-shifts the electricity to reduce the electrolyzer downtime. The recommended wind-thermal (W-T) capacity ratio is 1.452:1 in the studied case, namely 3600 MW OWF. The WTEB system breaks the trade-off relationship between renewable fraction (50.11%) and curtailment rate (1.48%) compared to traditional wind-thermal (WT) bundled system. The WPEB system improves the electricity shortage rate (4.74%), transmission line capacity factor (61.79%), load following precision (91.79%). The internal rate of return (IRR), levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of WTEB-W3600 are 34.70%, 0.5172 ¥/kWh, 29.76 ¥/kg. The WTEB hybrid energy system for a large-scale offshore wind power integration is first proposed and the techno-economic feasibility analysis proves the feasibility and forward-looking of the system. Collaborative capacity optimization of OWF, TPP, electrolysis station, battery can improve the system performance and economy. The wind-photovoltaic-thermal-electrolysis-battery (WPTEB) system co-locating the OWF and floating photovoltaic (PV) is an important development direction. Figure. Schematic of the wind-thermal-electrolysis-battery (WTEB) hybrid energy system in Yangjiang, China. [Display omitted] • WTEB enables a large-scale offshore wind power integration and curtailment reduction. • WTEB improves load following precision, electricity shortage and curtailment rate. • The wind-thermal (W-T) capacity ratio of the WTEB system is 1.452:1. • The electrolyzers and battery bank operate on the curtailed electricity. • The NPV, LCOE, IRR of WTEB-W3600 are 3.13 billion¥, 0.5172 ¥/kWh, 4.70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) are crucial to the procurement of global infrastructure projects. Moreover, a price mode based on a cluster of core concessionary items is key to the delivery of value-for-money and successful project outcomes. However, existing research has yet to fully identify PPP concessionary items, nor yet described the range of practical price modes. This study provides taxonomy of core concessionary items impacting PPP projects, systematically classifies price modes, and assesses the applicability and risk impacts of those price modes on PPP projects. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a comparative case study method in analyzing core concessionary items and alternative price modes. China is taken as the context, as it is one of the world's largest PPP markets. In ensuring research validity and reliability, diverse data sources are utilized, with a graphic content analysis tool developed to capture the structure of price modes. Findings: Eight PPP price modes are identified. These are: (1) UP (Unit Price) mode, (2) ALS (Annual Lump Sum) mode, (3) IRR (Internal Rate of Return) mode, (4) RP (Return for Investing Capital (RIC) - Profit Rate of O&M (PROM)) mode, (5) RFP (RIC - Financing Interest Rate (FR) - PROM) mode, (6) RFPL (RIC - FR - PROM - Lower Limit of User Charge (LLoUC)) mode, (7) RFL (RIC - FR - Lump Sum/Fixed Unit Price O&M Contract (LSOM/FUP)) mode, and (8) RFLL (RIC - FR - LSOM/FUP - LLoUC) mode. Other main findings are as follows: (1) Five risk allocation configurations can be achieved via these price modes. Yet while different price modes enable the allocation of specific risks, these do not always align with contracting parties' original intentions. (2) IRR and RP modes may be less applicable in general because of their vulnerability in allocating critical risks and capacity for spurring opportunistic behavior. Originality/value: By depicting the paths by which concessionary items in price modes affect cash flow, a systematic analysis of price modes was conducted exposing structural characteristics, along with risk allocation choice implications. The study is unique in: (1) Providing a systematic classification of PPP price modes used in PPP projects, (2) Presenting a comprehensive identification and streamlining of concessionary items in PPP practice, and (3) Analyzing the risk effects of different price modes. Together, these outcomes offer a hitherto unavailable perspective on PPP project risk management. The value of the study lies in the following: (1) Existing studies employ diverse concessionary items, but their applicability varies. This study offers an overarching framework facilitating decision-making in selecting appropriate PPP price modes and in determining concessionary items. (2) This study adds to the understanding of PPP price modes in significant ways that will aid local governments and potential sponsors in crafting and administrating more workable contract designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the rate of return for rural residents in minority areas can give a good explanation for the problems of children enrolling in school and dropping out. On the whole, the education rate of return for rural residents in northwest minority areas is low, the Mincer function estimate is 2%, and the Heckman model estimate is 2.49%. The rate of return for minorities is greater than that for the Han. Between the sexes, the rate of return for Han men is lower than that for Han women. For various minorities, the education rates of return for men are greater than for women. At different stages of education, the rate of return for minorities is generally greater than that for the Han. The rates of return for the Han rise along with elementary school, middle school, and high school level of education. For those with a middle school, rates of return are negative, and exhibit a "U" model structure. [English translation © 2016 Taylor & Francis, Inc., from the Chinese text "Xibei shaoshu minzu diqu nongcun jumin de jiaoyu shouyilü yanjiu" by Sun Baicai. Translated by Jeff Keller. Originally published in "Xibei shida xuebao" ("Journal of Northwest Normal University" 2013, vol. 50, no. 1.]

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This study analyzed the impact of COVID-19 outbreak and targeted required reserve ratio cut policy on stock returns of Chinese listed companies. This paper uses the data of 3,449 A-share listed companies from February 3, 2020 to December 31, 2020 for research, the empirical results showed that stock prices of private enterprises with stronger debt-paying ability and looser financing constraints, and state-owned enterprises with less supply chain credit risks performed better, in the central and western regions, enterprises with stronger solvency and looser financing constraints have better stock price performance during the early stages of pandemic. After the implementation of the targeted RRR cut policy, the stock prices of enterprises with poor solvency, private enterprises, and enterprises in central and western regions with strong financing constraints, state-owned enterprises, and enterprises in eastern region with high credit risks all showed significant reversals, and the stock prices reflected the effect of the targeted RRR cut policy in the short and medium term. Over time, the pandemic has been controlled, and the resumption of work and production has freed most enterprises from financial difficulties. However, due to sporadic outbreaks, large private enterprises and eastern enterprises with strong risk resistance and loose financing constraints enjoy better stock price performance. This study is helpful for enterprises to understand the value of financial flexibility and solvency and provides a reference for enterprises to make financial decisions: how to balance the benefits and costs of solvency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of China's new power system, various regions have implemented policies mandating the integration of new energy sources with energy storage, while also introducing subsidies to alleviate project cost pressures. Currently, there is a lack of subsidy analysis for photovoltaic energy storage integration projects. In order to systematically assess the economic viability of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects after considering energy storage subsidies, this paper reviews relevant policies in the Chinese photovoltaic energy storage market. It analyzes the cost and revenue composition of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects, and constructs a system dynamics model for the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of such projects. Taking a specific photovoltaic energy storage project as an example, this paper measures the levelized cost of electricity and the investment return rate under different energy storage scenarios. Combining energy storage allocation ratios and internal rate of return indicators, this paper analyzes the net present value of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects under different subsidy standards. The results indicate that, while the current energy storage subsidy policies positively stimulate photovoltaic energy storage integration projects, they exhibit a limited capacity to cover energy storage investment costs, thereby failing to incentivize capital market participation in the construction of such projects. Rational allocation of energy storage capacity and optimization of corresponding subsidy policies are crucial prerequisites for enhancing the economic viability and widespread adoption of photovoltaic energy storage integration projects. This study not only aids in investment decision making for photovoltaic power stations but also contributes to the formulation of energy storage subsidy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tiger puffer (Takifugu rubripes) is one of the most expensive farmed marine fish species in China. The high profitability of farmed tiger puffer is used to attract many new investors. However, some investments failed due to a lack of information about the tiger puffer fish farm business, poor farm and facility design, and flawed investment plans. To improve the investment efficiency and profitability of this industry, this analysis evaluated the economic performance of tiger puffer from eggs to harvest size using two different open-indoor combination aquaculture systems: a combination of recirculating aquaculture system and open net pen (RAS+ONP) and a combination of flow-through system and earth pond (FTS + EP). This analysis evaluated the financial performance of both systems using profit margin, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period. At the same time, a sensitivity analysis was employed to measure economic risk. The results revealed that despite the RAS+ONP system being more economically profitable than the FTS + EP system, the financial indicators of the FTS + EP system granted a better economic performance in terms of NPV and IRR due to lower initial investment and operating costs. Meanwhile, the sensitivity analysis revealed that the economic performance of both systems was vulnerable to the fluctuations in fish prices and feed prices. The potential risk of earning profit was higher for the RAS+ONP if the feed price fluctuated compared to the FTS + EP system, while the risk was higher for the FTS + EP if the fish price fluctuated. Hence, the FTS + EP system could represent an opportunity for new entrants to obtain a more profitable production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study constructs a Chinese lottery index (LI) based on six popular lottery preference variables by using the partial least squares method and examines the relationship between the LI and future stock market returns during the period from January 2000 to December 2021. We find that the LI can negatively predict stock market excess returns in‐sample and out‐of‐sample. In addition, the LI can generate a large economic gain for a mean–variance investor. Finally, the predictive sources of the LI stem from a cash flow channel and can be explained by the positive volume–volatility relationship and investor attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) in late imperial and Republican‐era Shanxi province, China, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. It investigates how communal finance fostered pre‐industrial economic growth and commercial activity. Drawing on previously unused, original materials from historical Shanxi ROSCAs and households, it makes several important discoveries. First, it finds widespread ROSCA participation, estimating no fewer than 7.1 per cent of Shanxi households participated in ROSCAs. Second, it estimates expected internal rates of returns on ROSCA membership at 2.55–6.01 per cent annually. This suggests that ROSCAs were economically competitive with other Chinese traditional financiers, which often charged more for loans and offered less to savers. Third, it finds a surprising degree of liquidity for ROSCA shares. Finally, it uncovers commercial entities participating in ROSCAs, suggesting ROSCAs could be useful to for‐profit enterprises. The article concludes that ROSCAs and communal finance may have played an important role in supporting pre‐industrial economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relation between financial uncertainty and volatility in China. The time variation in financial uncertainty shocks is theoretically closely related to stock return dynamics. Empirically, the financial uncertainty measure is based on a large set of economic and financial variables and captures its unpredictable component. Over the sample period from 2000 to 2021, we find that financial uncertainty positively impacts the trend component of market volatility and that it improves volatility predictions in both statistical and economic terms. Our study sheds new light on the sources driving volatility and the dynamic relation between uncertainty and volatility components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using hand‐collected data from China's split share structure reform (SSSR) program, we show that foreign institutional investors' certification mitigates domestic minority shareholders' mistrust of controlling shareholders' reform plans and facilitates the implementation of the SSSR. Domestic minority shareholders cast fewer dissenting votes, complete the SSSR more quickly but with lower compensation, and achieve higher stock return reactions in reforming firms with higher foreign institutional ownership. Foreign institutional investors' prestige is a key factor in aligning domestic minority shareholders toward seeking long‐term payoffs. Our work reveals the positive role of foreign institutional investors' certification in a salient reform of corporate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the problems of energy depletion and environmental pollution caused by non renewable energy such as oil and coal have seriously hindered the sustainable development of our society. Biomass energy is a reliable low-carbon alternative energy with renewable, clean and other characteristics. Therefore, the energy transformation to renewable energy is crucial to China's development. Research shows that China has rich biomass resources. For example, agricultural wastes can be used to produce biogas by anaerobic fermentation of agricultural wastes straw, which can reduce a lot of carbon emissions. Therefore, it is of great significance for China's development to make full and reasonable use of this resource. This paper discusses two types of biogas power generation technologies using straw as raw material, namely, traditional biogas direct combustion power generation technology and biogas fuel cell power generation technology. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) and time value dynamic analysis method, the feasibility of two types of biogas power generation technologies is comprehensively evaluated from both environmental and economic aspects. The feasibility of this technology is compared with that of coal-fired power generation technology, and the feasibility of straw biogas power generation technology in both economic and environmental aspects is discussed. In the feasibility analysis of environmental benefits, three potential values of environmental impact categories are considered: global warming (GWP), environmental acidification (AP) and human toxicity (HTP). The environmental impact potential of the three power generation technologies is calculated according to the equivalence factor of each environmental category. After the environmental impact potentials are standardized, the total environmental impact loads of different environmental categories are obtained. The analysis of the total environmental impact is consistent with the judgment of the environmental benefits of the three power generation technologies. The economic feasibility analysis adopts the dynamic analysis method of time value, and selects the dynamic investment payback period, internal rate of return and net present value as the analysis indicators. According to literature review, find representative power plants, and calculate dynamic payback period, net present value and internal rate of return by referring to capital input and output data of power plants. According to the calculation results, the economic feasibility of different power generation technologies is comprehensively analyzed. The results show that the biogas fuel cell power generation technology is the best in terms of total environmental impact, and the total environmental impact load is 8.55×10-4, followed by biogas direct combustion power generation technology, with a total environmental impact load of 2.15×10-2。 Compared with coal-fired power generation technology (2.97×10-1), the emission reduction rate reached 99.71% and 92.76% respectively. In terms of economic benefits, when the dynamic payback period and NPV are taken as indicators, the payback period of the straw biogas direct fired power generation project is the shortest (12.03 years), the NPV in the operation period can reach 1 361 246 Yuan/MW, and the economic benefits are the best; The second is coal-fired power generation project (14.5 years), with a net present value of 423 933 Yuan/MW; The dynamic payback period of biogas fuel cell power generation project is more than 20 years, and there is no surplus during operation. Therefore, compared with biogas fuel cell power generation technology, biogas direct combustion power generation technology has more significant economic benefits. This shows that biogas direct fired power generation technology will remain one of the best power generation technologies to replace coal-fired power generation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do investors' risk preferences influence the relationships between investors' online channel use intensity and both their trading behaviors and performance? This study answers this important question even as investors are increasingly rely on the Internet for their trading activities. We leverage rare and unique micro-level historical dataset from more than 7,000 investor accounts over a 44-month period between 2010 and 2013 at a large brokerage firm in China. The dataset and analyses enable us to provide new insights into how investors' online channel use intensity and risk preferences jointly influence their trading behaviors and performance, even though some other aspects of financial markets have changed considerably over the years. The findings reveal that although online channel use intensity is associated with increased trading volume, trading frequency, and investment returns, these effects differ across investors with different risk preferences. We find that while online channel use intensity has strong positive effects on transaction frequency for both risk-seeking and risk-averse investors, it has a much lower effect on trading volume for risk-averse investors than for risk-seeking investors. We further find that risk-averse investors with higher online channel use intensity outperform investors with other risk preferences in terms of investment performance. This paper contributes to the emerging literature at the intersection of information systems and behavioral finance by revealing the moderating role of risk preferences in the relationships between investors' online trading channel use intensity and both their trading behaviors and outcomes. We discuss the implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public capital plays a key role in national economic production in developing countries, and it has become the focus of factor reform in China. This paper aims at studying the dynamic characteristics of China's public capital and the return rate. To this end, this paper inventories the public capital stock from 1978 to 2017; constructs a two-sector model to derive the necessary condition for optimal investment related to the return rate, and empirically tests it; estimates the output shares of the two sectors and calculates the rate of return to capital; and illustrates the dynamic evolution of public capital and the return rate from the time and regional dimensions. The study shows that, first, public capital has grown significantly. The portion of public capital held in the form of state-holding is increasing year by year. However, the proportion of public capital to total capital has decreased from 81% to 35%. Second, the growth of public capital has effectively balanced the gap of capital between regions. Third, the rate of return to capital has been decreasing, with two sectors' return rates having converged in 1981 and in 2010–2013. This paper measures the stock of public capital and its return rate, which is beneficial for formulating the policy of public capital in economic production and distribution, as well as exploring the path to achieving common prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the stock returns of Chinese pharmaceutical and healthcare companies in response to the announcements of medical reform and Covid-19 vaccines, which are underexplored in the literature. Medical reform in China removes all drug markups of public hospitals; we find that the announcement of medical reform might not negatively impact the overall stock returns but only negatively impact young firms and small firms. Meanwhile, Covid-19 vaccines are deemed to be important weapons against the virus; we find that the announcements of Covid-19 vaccine approvals positively impacted the overall stock returns but did not benefit young firms and small firms. Our results imply that investors of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries generally favour old firms and large firms when important medical news emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the spillover effects of supply chain corruption practices (SCCPs) on stock returns along the supply chain and within the industry. Specifically, it investigates how SCCPs affect the stock returns of corrupt firms' bystander supply chain partners and industry peers, both of which are not involved in the SCCPs. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employ the event study methodology to quantify SCCPs' spillover effects in terms of abnormal stock returns. The analysis is based on 117 SCCPs occurring in China between 2014 and 2021. Findings: The event study results show that SCCPs have negative effects on the stock returns of corrupt firms' bystander supply chain partners. Such negative effects are more pronounced for bystander buyers than bystander suppliers. However, SCCPs do not have a significant impact on the stock returns of corrupt firms' industry peers. Additional analysis further suggests that SCCPs are more likely to affect the stock returns of domestic rather than overseas bystander supply chain partners. Originality/value: This study is the first attempt to thoroughly examine the spillover effects of SCCPs along the supply chain and within the industry, advancing the understanding of the financial consequences of SCCPs and providing important implications for future research and practices related to supply chain corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impacts of global economic policy uncertainty (GEPU) and domestic (Chinese) economic policy uncertainty (CEPU) on the long-run volatility of the tourism stock market in China based on an improved GARCH–MIDAS–X model. Empirical results reveal that both CEPU and GEPU have significant negative effects on the long-run volatility of China's tourism stock market. It is further identified that the impact of GEPU on tourism companies' performance is short-lived. The findings suggest that tourism-related practitioners should monitor both CEPU and GEPU when conducting risk assessments related to tourism investment and policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a sample of Chinese ChiNext (Growth Enterprise Market) firms during their initial public offerings (IPOs) from 2009 to 2019, this study explores whether these firms engage in sales growth management and examines its economic consequences. We provide evidence that ChiNext firms tend to manage their sales growth to influence issuance prices during IPOs. Further, the study identifies several indicators that suggest growth‐managing firms engage in more aggressive and riskier promotional strategies, such as longer turnover days of receivables, lower gross profit margins and higher allowance ratios for doubtful accounts. The study also finds that growth‐managing firms are more likely to have higher price‐to‐earnings ratios, offer prices, overfund ratios, first‐day closing prices and a higher percentage of positive posts, suggesting that these firms aim to inflate their growth to attract more funds from financial markets by influencing investors' expectations. Additionally, we find a negative relationship between sales management and post‐IPO stock returns, indicating that investors cannot effectively identify sales management by ChiNext IPO firms. Cross‐sectional analysis also shows that growth‐managing ChiNext IPO firms are likely to have depressed post‐IPO performance, whereas the market intermediary (brokers, auditors and asset appraisal institutions) with a good reputation helps to alleviate future performance reversals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) could be an effective risk-alleviating tool for companies. However, an important issue is whether CSR plays a risk-alleviating role in large negative shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the impact of corporate social responsibility on stock performance in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the differing effects of strategic and responsive CSR. By analysing daily data on newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and the stock performance of A-share listed companies during the lockdown period in 2020, we find that CSR can significantly mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on stock returns and recovery. Specifically, responsive CSR has a significant short-term moderating effect, whereas strategic CSR has a significant long-term moderating effect. The moderating effects of CSR are more pronounced among non-state-owned firms, firms with lower financial leverage, and large companies. These findings suggest that companies can reduce short- and long-term risks by strategically using responsive and strategic CSR in response to negative shocks in global economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel???tourism stock markets. Specifically, it considers the five most visited countries: France, Spain, the US, China, and Italy. Unlike previous studies, it estimates time-varying VAR (TVP-VAR) models, including daily observations of confirmed COVID-19 cases, economic activity, CDS spreads, and the returns of travel???tourism sectors. In brief, our findings indicate that the effects of COVID-19 vary across countries, as well as over time. Specifically, increasing numbers of cases initially had a negative and significant impact on the travel???tourism stock returns of all countries. However, this effect had become insignificant by early April 2020. The travel???tourism markets of the European countries were seen to be more heavily affected by COVID-19 when compared to China and the US, with China seeming to have been the least affected country of all. Overall, our results are essential in understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel???tourism stock markets, and are of particular importance to policymakers, portfolio managers, and investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a sample of Chinese listed firms to examine how overconfident CEOs influence firm risk, with product market competitiveness serving as a moderator. The findings of this investigation reveal that firms led by overconfident CEOs are more likely to have very volatile stock returns and cash flows, which runs counter to the predictions of traditional agency theories that assume agents are rational and risk averse. The results also demonstrate that non-state-owned firms are particularly susceptible to the unfavorable effects of overconfidence. Furthermore, except for state-owned firms, a competitive industrial environment may mitigate the negative consequences of CEO overconfidence. These outcomes suggest policy makers and regulators to formulate strategies for promoting stronger competition in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the impact of Chinese shipment volumes measured in TEUs on US stock performance in the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. The analysis indicates that, initially, US stocks were negatively affected irrespective of firms' trade engagements with China; however, as the global pandemic unfolded, companies with elevated imports from China exhibited more pronounced abnormal returns. The findings further reveal an increased influence of debt level and cash holdings on stock performance as the crisis intensified in Europe and the USA. These results highlight the evolving nature of global trade dynamics and their implications for financial markets amid global crises. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights into the resilience of global supply chains during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. The observed pattern, where companies with greater import volumes from China experienced better stock returns, underscores the importance of adaptable supply chains during disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using factor models, we examine two pricing issues of cloud stocks in China's stock market. In particular, we test whether the Fama and French factor models are useful to explain the stock prices of cloud stocks and whether there are abnormal returns unexplained by these models. Using the daily stock prices of 1670 cloud stocks from 2012 to 2022, we find that the factor models explain up to nearly 97% of the stock return variations of the cloud stocks, and mispricing. The results are robust to alternative measure of factors, outliers, sampling period and different approaches of factor modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, the authors take the central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) as an exogenous shock to study the reaction of the stock market in China. Using the event study method, the authors check how the first round of the first batch of CEPI supervision affects the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) of the listed firms on the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchange. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the authors take the first round of the first batch of CEPI supervision as a clean exogenous shock to study its effects on the capital market. The authors collect daily trading data from the China stock market and accounting research (CSMAR) database, with the sample containing 1,950 Chinese firms listed on either the Shenzhen or Shanghai stock exchanges. And detailed information on CEPI supervision is obtained from the official website of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China. The event study method is adopted to analyze the reaction of the stock market under CEPI supervision. Specifically, the authors constructed the cumulative abnormal return of each firm around the event day of CEPI. To capture the deterrent effects of CEPI supervision, the authors examine the situation of polluting and non-polluting firms in the supervised provinces, adjacent provinces and provinces that are not supervised or close to the supervised provinces, respectively. Findings: This paper throws light on the following: (1) the polluting firms in the supervised provinces were negatively impacted by CEPI within 20 trading days of the event day, and its effects spread to the polluting firms in the neighboring provinces; (2) CEPI had a favorable impact on the non-polluting businesses in the provinces that are neither supervised nor close to the supervised provinces. The authors contend that it is because the investment is being forced out of the polluting sector and into the non-polluting sector, which is more pronounced in the provinces not directly or indirectly targeted by CEPI; (3) by comparison, the "looking back monitoring of the first round" has had no discernible detrimental impact on the firms' CAR, indicating an important role of psychology anticipation of investors in the stock market performance; (4) although not physically located in the supervised provinces, the downstream enterprises of the polluting firms suffer significantly from CEPI shock; (5) the effectiveness of CEPI supervision in the supervised provinces depends on the level of local environmental regulation and the ownership structure of the company. Private firms in the provinces with stronger environmental regulations suffer more from the CEPI shock; (6) the multivariate analysis shows that while enterprises with high ROE and financial leverage may be at risk of CAR loss, older, larger firms are less likely to experience CEPI shock; (7) the study of persistent effect reveals that the strike of CEPI supervision can last for at least 10 months after the event day and deterrent effect can be spread within the whole polluting industry. Research limitations/implications: In this paper, the authors only concentrate on the market reaction within 20 trading days after the event day. An analysis of long-term effects should be valuable to get a deeper knowledge of the capital market reaction to the CEPI policy. In addition, the paper only focuses on the first round of the first batch of CEPI. Since CEPI has been built as a constant regulation of local environmental performance, further study may need to track both the reaction of listed firms and investment behavior in the capital market. Practical implications: Policy implications of the paper are as follows: First, for the policymakers, it is important to construct a constant environmental regulation system instead of a campaign movement. Second, for investors, as environmental issues are receiving increasing attention from both the government and the public, investment decisions should take into account firms' environmental performance, which can help reduce the risk from environmental regulations. Third, the firms in the polluting industry should take more action to reduce pollutant releases and adopt green technology, which is essential for sustainable development under environmental protection. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature in the following aspects. First, the authors provide new evidence on the effects of environmental regulations as a shock to the stock market, which has been wildly concentrated in the literature about environmental policies evaluation and capital market reaction. Second, the authors supplement the literature on green finance and sustainability transformation, which has got increasing attention in recent years. Theoretically, by guiding investment and affecting the stock market performance, environmental regulations are considered to be an efficient way to stimulate polluting firms to transform into green development. The results of the paper support this intuition by showing that the CAR of the non-polluting firms in non-supervised provinces in fact benefit from the CEPI supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With reference to Ohlson' model, we optimise earnings persistence model and express earnings persistence measure as a function of return on equity (R.O.E.), dividends payout ratio and other factors. Our theoretical model reveals that dividends payout ratio has little effect on the earnings persistence, while R.O.E. has a decisive effect on earnings persistence. Using quarterly earnings data of 872 listed firms in China over 2011–2020, we calculate the Revised Persistence value of earnings (RPer value) of our earnings persistence model, and find that the Rper value of our model have more explanatory power than that of Kormendi and Lipe' model. Our study also suggest that quarterly earnings are useful and have information content. Both the theoretical model and empirical results of our research are of great significance to understand and support the implementation of semi-compulsory cash dividends rules in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of education on entrepreneurial choice is ambiguous in both theory and empirics. Based on the data from the 2016 China Labour-Force Dynamics Survey, this paper studies the impact of China's Higher Education Expansion (HEE) policy initiated in 1999 on the entrepreneurial behaviour of urban college students and its transmission mechanism by employing the difference-in-difference approach. The results show that the implementation of the HEE policy has significantly promoted the entrepreneurship of urban college students and the HEE policy stimulates urban college students' entrepreneurship by decreasing the rate of return to urban college students' education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Clean Coal Technology is the property of Clean Coal Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The thermodynamic and economic suitability of four geothermal power systems is analyzed. When the heat source temperature ranges from 100-150 °C, the performance indicators of power capacity per unit geo-fluid, exergy efficiency, payback period, net present value and internal rate of return for four types of the power system are calculated. The results show that when the heat source temperature increases from 100-150 °C, the power capacity per unit geo-fluid for single flash, organic rankine cycle (ORC), double flash, and flash-ORC system increases from 2.26-7.72 kWh/t, 2.05-8.37 kWh/t, 2.96-9.96 kWh/t, and 2.76-9.82 kWh/t, respectively, and the performance indicators of two-stage energy conversion systems are better than single systems. R245fa is selected as the working fluid based on anti-scaling and better performance. When the heat source temperature is 130 °C, the payback period, net present value and internal rate of return of flash-binary power system are six years, 2508000 US$ and 16.09%, respectively. The research shows that, unlike the single objective optimization of the two power systems, the multi-objective feasibility analysis is a technical integration innovation of the existing research. The research can provide technical support for power construction and realize the sustainable development of clean energy in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Petroleum Geology & Recovery Efficiency is the property of Petroleum Geology & Recovery Efficiency and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Market skewness is an important indicator of market risk. We decompose market skewness into good and bad skewness and further study the relationship between various skewness and the stock market returns in China. Empirical results show that good skewness can significantly predict stock market returns in- and out-of-sample. Furthermore, compared to macroeconomic variables and variance variables, good skewness can provide complementary or dominant information. We also find that good skewness can provide helpful information in predicting stock market returns beyond what market skewness and bad skewness provide. A mean-variance investor can obtain sizable economic gains by using good skewness. The economic source of predictability is the cash flow channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using unbalanced panel data on 3326 Chinese listed companies from 2014 to 2021, this study investigates the impact of corporate environmental performance on China's excess stock returns. The results show that stocks of companies with better environmental performance earn significantly higher excess returns, indicating the existence of green returns in the Chinese stock market. We further reveal that heightened climate-change concerns can boost the stock market's green returns, while tightened climate policies decrease green returns by increasing long-term carbon risk. Our findings are robust to endogeneity problems and hold great implications for both investors and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the main driving force for the digital transformation of the construction industry, the uncertainty of digital technology in the application process has seriously hindered the high-quality development of the construction industry. In order to promote the wide application of digital technology in the construction industry and clarify the key uncertainties in its application process, this paper identifies the uncertainty index system of digital technology application based on the LDA topic model and literature analysis; the DEMATEL-ISM method is used to construct the multilevel hierarchical structure model of the uncertainty indicators in the application of digital technology to study the mutual influence among the indicators and to find the key uncertainty indicators. The research results show that the uncertainty indicators of the application of digital technology in the construction industry are divided into five levels: policy, industry, personnel, economy and law, and that the perfection of the policy guarantee system is the key uncertainty indicator for the investment return period of digital technology application. The standard contract model for digital technology is a direct uncertainty indicator for the application of digital technology in the construction industry. The results of this study help researchers and practitioners to focus on the key barriers and provide a list of key elements for construction companies to promote the application of next-generation digital technologies to improve digitalization of the construction industry. This study also provides a policy reference to further promote the digital transformation of the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces an augmented Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) neural network architecture, integrating Symbolic Genetic Programming (SGP), with the objective of forecasting cross-sectional price returns across a comprehensive dataset comprising 4500 listed stocks in the Chinese market over the period from 2014 to 2022. Using the S&P Alpha Pool Dataset for China as basic input, this architecture incorporates data augmentation and feature extraction techniques. The result of this study demonstrates significant improvements in Rank Information coefficient (Rank IC) and IC information ratio (ICIR) by 1128% and 5360% respectively when it is applied to fundamental indicators. For technical indicators, the hybrid model achieves a 206% increase in Rank IC and an impressive surge of 2752% in ICIR. Furthermore, the proposed hybrid SGP-LSTM model outperforms major Chinese stock indexes, generating average annualized excess returns of 31.00%, 24.48%, and 16.38% compared to the CSI 300 index, CSI 500 index, and the average portfolio, respectively. These findings highlight the effectiveness of SGP-LSTM model in improving the accuracy of cross-sectional stock return predictions and provide valuable insights for fund managers, traders, and financial analysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the effect of the expansion of the digital economy on the quality of regional investment introduction in China using city-level data from 2011 to 2019. The findings of the study indicate that the growth of the digital economy can greatly raise the calibre of regional investment, and this conclusion has withstood a number of robustness tests, including endogeneity. The growth of the digital economy primarily draws high-quality foreign investment through enhancing productivity, attracting talent, and increasing return on investment. A region's high-quality development plan can increase the promotion effect of the digital economy on the quality of foreign investment, but the promotion effect of the digital economy on the quality of foreign investment clearly demonstrates regional variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the unsymmetrical effect from air quality (AQ) to stock return (SR) in China's different industries. Depending on quantile-on-quantile (QQ) test, it draws the important results in following aspects. For tourism, iron and steel, and automobile industries, their coefficient values between AQ and SR turn into negative from positive with deteriorating AQ. Conversely, the coefficients in the wind power, hydro power, thermal power, environmental protection, and medical equipment industries turn positive from negative. Some contributions are thus drawn when compared to existing literatures. Government industrial policy is regarded as an important supplement in explaining mechanism from AQ to SR, except investor sentiment. Industrial heterogeneity is seriously treated in this paper due to different industries have different responses to AQ. Besides, the QQ test is able to capture nexus between AQ and SR in specific quantiles through embedding non-parametric estimation into conventional quantile approach. Therefore, investors should avoid biased trading decisions under different air qualities. Meanwhile, government intervention is paid special attention when appearing serious air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) awards on firms' market value considering these awards as a signal and proxy for the effectiveness of CSR practice. Design/methodology/approach: There are 342 announcements of CSR awards in China from 2006 to 2017 screened and analyzed using the event study methodology. Findings: The stock market reacts significantly negatively to CSR award announcements in the short term. Firms that are state-owned, belong to the manufacturing industry, outside east China, repeatedly win awards and are listed in the Chinese H-share market, experience a stronger stock market reaction. Interestingly, the long-term stock returns of award winners are significantly positive for multiyear holding periods. Practical implications: The findings offer stakeholders clear guidelines on how to manage communications in the market to extract enhanced financial performance from CSR award announcements. Originality/value: This study chooses CSR awards as a proxy for the effectiveness of excellent CSR practice. This study also contributes to the CSR literature by analyzing how investors use the award information to make investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a sample of 167 publicly listed enterprises covered by eight regional pilot emissions trading markets in China from 2013 to 2023. Our empirical findings indicate that the carbon price returns negatively affect the stock returns of enterprises covered by the regional markets, with the Shenzhen and Guangdong regions suffering a more pronounced effect. Furthermore, high-carbon-intensity enterprises are more susceptible to this negative impact than their low-carbon-intensity counterparts. The robustness of the negative relationship is evident even after the national emissions trading market opened on July 16, 2021. This study provides insightful guidance for policymakers to regulate emissions trading markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proper description of the return distribution is crucial for investment practitioners. The underestimation of the tail risk may lead to severe consequences, even for assets with moderate fluctuations. However, many empirical studies found that the distribution tails of many financial assets drop off more slowly than the Gaussian distributions. Therefore, we intend to model and calibrate the heavy tails observed in financial fluctuations in this study. By maximizing the Varma entropy with value-at-risk and expected shortfall constraints, we obtain the probability distribution of stock return and observe that the tail of stock return distribution is a power law. Since the variance of the real stock portfolio may be a random variable, using the mean-VaR-ES constraints to maximize the Varma entropy effectively avoids the problem of assuming that the variance is a constant value under the traditional mean-variance constraint. Therefore, the deduced theoretical model would be more consistent with the real market. Using high-frequency data from China's stock markets, we calibrate our theoretical model and give the concrete form of probability density distribution p(x) for different time intervals. The calibration results show that the tail of the stock return distribution is a power law with most of the power-law orders between −2 and −7. We prove the robustness of our results by calibrating the Varma entropy for S&P 500 of the USA stock market and different stock market indices in China's A-share market. Our research's findings not only offer a theoretical perspective for researchers but also give investing professionals a theoretical foundation on which to base their decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study aims to explore the impact of DSC announcements on stock market Value. • Event study and signaling theory are used in the model building. • This study reveals a positive stock market reaction to DSC announcements. • Technological innovation capability does not affect the stock market reaction. • DSC announcements in the internalization stage led to more positive reactions. • DSC announcements facing downstream supply chain lead to more positive reactions. Listed companies have implemented the digital transformation of supply chains to improve performance, and these companies usually actively issue digital supply chain (DSC) announcements to disclose important information about DSC establishments with the aim of attracting investors. This event study selects 174 DSC announcements released by Chinese-listed companies from 2018 to 2020 to explore the impact of DSC announcements on stock market performance based on signaling theory, which can be used to elucidate the critical value of DSC announcements. First, the results reveal a positive stock market reaction to DSC announcements. Second, compared with DSC announcements involving simple supply chain network structures, DSC announcements involving complex supply chain network structures lead to more positive stock market reactions. Third, technological innovation capability does not affect stock market reactions. Finally, DSC announcements in the internalization stage led to more positive stock market reactions than DSC announcements in the input and output stages. Compared with DSC announcements facing upstream supply chains or whole supply chains, DSC announcements facing downstream supply chains lead to more positive stock market reactions. This study explores the stock market value of DSCs and promotes the existing empirical literature on DSCs to help managers fully understand the market value of DSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of the farm biogas project is a perfect measure to deal with the increasingly nervous global climate problem and energy crisis and can support the accomplishment of urgently needed carbon peaking and carbon neutrality effectively. But the poor economic benefits hinder its better development. Thus, this paper aims to enhance the economics of farm biogas projects and explore a win–win model for economic and environmental benefits by studying the economic impact of participation in carbon trading on three types of farm biogas projects. First, economic analysis of farm biogas projects based on life cycle cost is carried out using case analysis. Second, the greenhouse gas emission reductions are calculated and benefits from carbon trading are considered. Then, the economic robustness was tested. Specifically, the economics of all three types of farm biogas projects is improved after carbon trading. The ecological farm biogas project has the best economic performance, with a net present value of $551,689.11, internal rate of return of 49%, and payback period of 2.39 years. In addition, the emission reductions of 5045.79 t CO2e, 7420.28 t CO2e, and 148.41 t CO2e are very significant. Based on these, suggestions for developing farm biogas projects and introducing biogas projects to carbon trading are put forward for the reference of governments and investors when making investments and reforms. According to the result, participation of farm biogas projects in carbon trading can effectively enhance economic benefits and accelerate the achievement of the greenhouse gas emission reduction target which is of great significance to the urgent goal of global green and low-carbon transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-renewable energy complementary system (MRECS) is a good plan that can effectively support the accomplishment of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality on schedule and take full advantage of renewable resources in rural areas. This research investigates the techno-economic feasibility of MRECS in rural areas to promote its large-scale implementation. A MRECS with integrated solar, wind, and biomass energy is proposed for a rural economic development zone. First, a scientific evaluation of the potential for renewable resources in rural areas is done. Second, a case study of the Jize Economic Development Zone is applied to examine the optimal MRECS configuration. Finally, an economic evaluation model that takes environmental benefits into account was created based on life cycle costs (LCCs). For the techno-economic analysis, the net present value (NPV), dynamic investment payback period, and internal rate of return (IRR) are also employed. Findings reveal that (1) the Jize Economic Development Zone has considerable development potential due to its abundance of renewable energy resources and ability to plan for 168.42 MW of renewable energy units; (2) to meet the demand for continuous power generation and realize the sensible use of renewable energy, a combination of 10 MW photovoltaic power generation (PV), 25 MW wind power generation (WT), 2 MW biogas power generation (BG), and 1 MW straw direct combustion power generation (SDC) is able to be implemented; (3) the provided renewable energy system can save indirect expenses up to 10.60 million RMB/year, with significant environmental advantages, when compared to grid extension; and (4) the NPV of the dynamic investment reaches RMB 322.44 million after accounting for the environmental advantages in the income of MRECS. The dynamic investment payback period is 6.42 years, and the IRR is 21.44%. According to the findings, the MRECS is economically viable, and capitalizing on the environmental advantages can increase those advantages even more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper selected Vanke as the case to study the governance problems of Vanke and the protection of the interests of small and medium shareholders under the situation of equity disputes. At the same time, the study further explored the advantages and disadvantages of the dispersed ownership structure, the long-term impact on the company's development and the choice of the involved corporate governance methods under the current Chinese capital market conditions. This paper adopted the event research method and selected the period from June 2015 to June 2017 (24 months) as the observation period to analyze the market performance impact of Vanke in the equity disputes. At the same time, this paper also measured Vanke 's individual stock rate of return (R it ) and market rate of return (R mt ), and calculated Vanke 's normal rate of return [ E (R i,t )], abnormal rate of return (AR i,t ), and cumulative abnormal rate of return (CAR i ) during different event windows ([−3,10]). Vanke 's shareholding was too dispersed and the stock price had been sluggish for a long time, which had greatly reduced the acquisition difficulty and cost of Baoneng , thus triggering the "barbarian invasion" of Baoneng . In the struggle for control, whether it was Vanke 's anti-takeover measures or China Resources , Baoneng , and Evergrande 's competition for equity, their actions had harmed the interests of small and medium shareholders. The market supervision department was too lenient to supervise and punish the interests of small and medium shareholders, and opportunism made behaviors that infringe on the interests of others more reckless. However, small and medium shareholders cannot actively participate in the company's management decision-making to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, which intensifies the violations of all parties in the equity disputes, thus forming a vicious circle. Therefore, the protection of the interests of small and medium shareholders required the joint efforts and consciousness of regulators, small and medium shareholders, and acquirers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese overcapacity in the steel and coal industry has been on the rise since 2013, which leads to the misallocation of resources and decreases in production efficiency. In 2015, the Chinese central government adopted a series of de-capacity policies to resolve excess capacity and improve corporate profitability. However, there is scant evidence on the impacts of de-capacity policies on the firm profitability. Based on the data from Chinese listed companies in the steel and coal industry, this study constructs the difference-in-difference (DID) method to investigate the effects of the de-capacity policy on the profitability of listed companies in the steel and coal industry empirically. The results show that the de-capacity policy significantly increases the return on equity (ROE) of the experimental group, which is higher than that of the control group by 12.4%. That is partially because of the improvement in gross profit margin, management efficiency, and return on manpower due to the de-capacity policy. This study offers new evidence on the efficiency of China's de-capacity policy toward the steel and coal industries through data at the enterprise level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Natural Gas Industry is the property of Natural Gas Industry Journal Agency and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Guangxi Normal University - Natural Science Edition is the property of Gai Kan Bian Wei Hui and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Stock pledged loans have become prevalent among large shareholders of listed firms in China. The largest shareholder pledges a greater fraction of her holdings as collateral for credit when the firm is in growth industries, less profitable, not state owned, and has higher leverage. Stock performance of highly pledged firms is indistinguishable from that of firms with low pledge ratios in 2017. During 2018, however, highly pledged firms have worse stock returns and operating performance, and experienced 'contagion' - the crash risk of one highly pledged stock spreading to others. Using a regulatory reform in 2013 that allowed securities companies to provide stock pledged loans, we find that obtaining these personal loans had no adverse effects on the firms when the pledge ratio was low. Overall, forced sales of pledged stocks and worsened agency conflict are responsible for the poor performance of highly pledged firms during the 2018 bear market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find that the determinants of China's outbound M&As depart dramatically from the literature. First, China's M&A volume with a target country is not affected by geographic distance, currency appreciation, or stock market return. Second, Chinese acquirers pick an unconventional uphill battle by primarily targeting countries with greater cultural distance, stronger investor protection laws, and higher per capita income. We also document that China's outbound M&As have a higher than normal percentage of deals being partial acquisitions. We argue that emerging markets can differ remarkably from developed countries in the considerations and modes of outbound M&As. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]