ESG表现能否提升企业估值?——来自权益资本成本的经验证据

Can ESG Performance Enhance Corporate Valuation?—Empirical evidence from the cost of equity capital

企业ESG(环境、社会和公司治理)表现良好是否会降低权益资本成本,事关我国通过建设多层次资本市场实现绿色发展战略目标,具有重要现实意义。本文选取2009—2020年中国A股上市公司数据,考察企业ESG表现对权益资本成本的影响,从企业风险视角出发采用多种风险指标对上述影响的作用机制进行检验,并进行不同层面的异质性分析。结果表明:(1)企业良好的ESG表现能够降低企业权益资本成本。(2)企业风险是上述影响的作用机制之一,即企业提高ESG表现能够通过降低企业风险来降低权益资本成本。(3)从宏观来看,企业所在地区较高的市场化程度是上述影响机制成立的条件之一。(4)从行业来看,ESG表现与权益资本成本之间的关系在不同污染属性的行业之间具有异质性。(5)从微观来看,企业所有制对于ESG表现与权益资本成本之间的关系存在明显的调节效应。本文深化了对“双碳”背景下企业可持续发展能力与企业融资成本之间关系的理解,为企业重视和提升ESG表现提供了有力的经验证据。

This paper examines whether strong corporate ESG performance can lead to a reduction in the cost of equity capital.This is an objective that is crucial for China's green development strategic goals and achieved through the construction of a multi-tiered capital market.This study uses data from listed A-share companies over the period from2009to2020to examine the impact of corporate ESG performance on the cost of equity capital.From the perspective of corporate risk,the study uses multiple risk indicators to test the mechanism through which corporate ESG performance affects the cost of equity capital.In addition,various heterogeneity analyses are also conducted,and the results show that corporates with a strong ESG performance see lower equity capital costs.As corporate risk is one of the assessed factors employed,improved ESG performance is shown to lower the cost of equity capital by reducing corporate risk.From the macro perspective,higher levels of marketization in the region where the corporates are located are an important element in the study.From the industry perspective,the relationship between corporate ESG performance and the cost of equity capital is heterogeneous among industries with different pollution attributes.From the micro perspective,the ownership structure of the corporates in the study plays a significant moderating role in the relationship between ESG performance and the cost of equity capital.This paper deepens the understanding of the relationship between the sustainable development ability of corporates and their financing costs in the context of"double carbon".It also provides robust empirical evidence for corporates to prioritize and enhance their ESG performance.