Improving Investment and Financing Mechanism, Speeding up the Energy Reform Process-Interpretation to Implementing Opinions on Deepening Reform of Investment and Financing System in Energy Industry

Under the context of economic transformation and upgrading and the continued advancement of supplyside reforms in China, the development of the energy industry is confronted with many problems and challenges, such as insufficient energy investment, a shortage of financing channels,and the low participation of social capital. In order to fully mobilize social capital to invest in energy, enhance energy investment efficiency, expand energy financing channels,and increase the vitality of the energy industry, the state has recently issued the Implementing Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Investment and the Financing System in the Energy Industry( "Opinions"). This paper provides a deep interpretation of this document from the perspectives of the background for the investment and financing system reform in the energy industry,the main content of the reform, the problems and challenges confronting the reform,and the expected effects from the reform, and analyzes the objectives, ideas and problems of the reform, in order to effectively promote the investment and financing system reform in the energy industry.

On the Establishment of an Effective Financing System for Housing

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Health status and health systems financing in the MENA region:roadmap to universal health coverage

Background:Since the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)in 1990,many countries of the Middle East and North Africa(MENA)region made some improvements in maternal and child health and in tackling communicable diseases.The transition to the global agenda of Sustainable Development Goals brings new opportunities for countries to move forward toward achieving progress for better health,well-being,and universal health coverage.This study provides a profile of health status and health financing approaches in the MENA region and their implications on universal health coverage.Methods:Time-series data on socioeconomics,health expenditures,and health outcomes were extracted from databases and reports of the World Health Organization,the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program and analyzed using Stata 12 statistical software.Countries were grouped according to the World Bank income categories.Descriptive statistics,tables and charts were used to analyze temporal changes and compare the key variables with global averages.Results:Non-communicable diseases(NCDs)and injuries account for more than three quarters of the disabilityadjusted life years in all but two lower middle-income countries(Sudan and Yemen).Prevalence of risk factors(raised blood glucose,raised blood pressure,obesity and smoking)is higher than global averages and counterparts by income group.Total health expenditure(THE)per capita in most of the countries falls short of global averages for countries under similar income category.Furthermore,growth rate of THE per capita has not kept pace with the growth rate of GDP per capita.Out-of-pocket spending(OOPS)in all but the high-income countries in the group exceeds the threshold for catastrophic spending implying that there is a high risk of households getting poorer as a result of paying for health care.Conclusion:The alarmingly high prevalence of NCDs and injuries and associated risk factors,health spending falling short of the GDP and GDP growth rate,and high OOPS pose serious challenges for universal health coverage.Using multi-sector interventions,countries should develop and implement evidence-informed health system financing roadmaps to address these obstacles and move forward toward universal health coverage.

Contribution of the Tobacco Tax to the Financing of Health Systems in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tobacco is an illicit product sold in the world and involves fatal communicable diseases and deaths. In several countries, tobacco revenue contributes to the health of victims. This study aimed to evaluate the contribution of tobacco taxes to the financing of the health system in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the period of 3 years (from 2019 to 2021) in order to give some suggestions. A descriptive literature review on the tobacco tax was conducted from three tobacco tax collection services: the services of the General Secretariat of Health in DRC (SGSH), the Program of the National Health Account (PNHA) and the General Direction of Customs and Assizes (GDCA). The analysis revealed that no retrocession and no activity covered by the tax collected on tobacco does not contribute to the financing of the health sector, in order to reduce the burden of households already impoverished by diseases caused by tobacco.

Adaptability evolution of financing systems of mega projects

Mega projects require large funding,which often reaches tens or even hundreds of billions of yuan.In the state-oriented financing system,the huge fund gap has generally become an important factor restricting the development of mega projects worldwide.Since the 1980s,China’s long-span bridge projects have developed rapidly as typical mega projects as their financing systems have also undergone a series of changes and shown a high adaptability to complexity.However,the existing literature based on the perspective of evolution lacks focus on the complexity of mega project financing systems and its causes.Therefore,the complexity of the financing methods employed in the financing systems for China’s long-span bridges is analyzed in this work from the dimensions of time and regions through investigation and interviews.On the basis of the results and complex adaptive systems theory,the causes of the complexity are further explored in terms of the clustering effects of financing subjects and the deep uncertainty of financing environments.Then,the evolution rules of financing systems of mega projects are established from the aspect of financing subjects,financing environments,and financing methods.The research results can enrich decision-makers’understanding of the essential attributes and formation mechanism of the financing systems of mega projects and provide powerful support for decision-making in financing.

Critical Factors in Financing and Management of Light Rail Transit Systems： Delphi Methodology Approach

In recent years, a large number of LRT （light rail transit） networks and tramways have been built in Spain using the tender system. The rhythm of construction has been such that very few analyses have been carried out and those that have were only partially done because the main participants involved had ulterior motives which impeded their having a critical and independent opinion of the projects carried out. Within this framework, the Delphi methodology presents itself as a very useful instrument, as the intrinsic advantages that it has added to the characteristic that the experts who participate in the project can remain anonymous without detracting value from the conclusions obtained as these are grouped together according to their worth.

Pathway-dependency of Chinese Financial System Transition and Financing Difficulties of Private Business

Under the present situation of dramatic change of the national income distribution pattern, the dominant economy of our progressive reform has made a rapid change from the past government-direct-financing type to the present bank-indirect-financing type. In order to replace the function of government- investment in the state-owned economy, the direct and indirect financing channel of the process of our financial system transition has an obvious preference for its ownership system, and the small and medium-sized financial institutions matching with private business are in a weak state due to the constraints of system supply, these two factors result in the extreme asymmetric between the financial structure and economical structure. A major part of the financial resources are invested in those inefficient state-owned business, which involve the Private business into a difficult position of financing, and the whole financial system transition moves towards the factual pathway-dependency due to the system defect, accordingly the finance resources allocation enter into a system lock state with rather low efficiency, so it calls for some related system innovation to correct its pathway derivation.

SME share transfer system financing Efficiency Analysis

SME share transfer system financing has become the main theme of a new three-panel market.The efficiency of the new board of corporate finance and has become the core focus, more controversial aspects.SMEs in SME share transfer system market mainly private placement financing, equity financing pledge, and Transfer of Listing and mergers and acquisitions.This paper will be discussed by comparing the SMEs through SME share transfer system market financing, the use of a single sample T-test （One-Sample T Test） to verify the efficiency of the new board of corporate finance assets problem.

Rejuvenating Northeastern Area and Reforming the System of Investing and Financing

The system of investing and financing in northeastern area has the character of planned economy. Project conducting is our main strategy in any large-scale area rejuvenating plan, which has been proved lack of sustainable development. This paper proposes some suggestion to reform the system of investing and financing.

The political economy of results-based financing:the experience of the health system in Zimbabwe

Background:Since 2000,results based financing(RBF)has proliferated in health sectors in Africa in particular,including in fragile and conflict affected settings(FCAS)and there is a growing but still contested literature about its relevance and effectiveness.Less examined are the political economy factors behind the adoption of the RBF policy,as well as the shifts in influence and resources which RBF may bring about.In this article,we examine these two topics,focusing on Zimbabwe,which has rolled out RBF nationwide in the health system since 2011,with external support.Methods:The study uses an adapted political economy framework,integrating data from 40 semi-structured interviews with local,national and international experts in 2018 and thematic analysis of 60 policy documents covering the decade between 2008 and 2018.Results:Our findings highlight the role of donors in initiating the RBF policy,but also how the Zimbabwe health system was able to adapt the model to suit its particular circumstances-seeking to maintain a systemic approach,and avoiding fragmentation.Although Zimbabwe was highly resource dependent after the political-economic crisis of the 2000s,it retained managerial and professional capacity,which distinguishes it from many other FCAS settings.This active adaptation has engendered national ownership over time,despite initial resistance to the RBF model and despite the complexity of RBF,which creates dependence on external technical support.Adoption was also aided by ideological retro-fitting into an earlier government performance management policy.The main beneficiaries of RBF were frontline providers,who gained small but critical additional resources,but subject to high degrees of control and sanctions.Conclusions:This study highlights resource-seeking motivations for adopting RBF in some low and middle income settings,especially fragile ones,but also the potential for local health system actors to shape and adapt RBF to suit their needs in some circumstances.This means less structural disruption in the health system and it increases the likelihood of an integrated approach and sustainability.We highlight the mix of autonomy and control which RBF can bring for frontline providers and argue for clearer understanding of the role that RBF commonly plays in these settings.

A Review on the Security of the Ethereum-Based DeFi Ecosystem

Decentralized finance(DeFi)is a general term for a series of financial products and services.It is based on blockchain technology and has attracted people’s attention because of its open,transparent,and intermediary free.Among them,the DeFi ecosystem based on Ethereum-based blockchains attracts the most attention.However,the current decentralized financial system built on the Ethereum architecture has been exposed to many smart contract vulnerabilities during the last few years.Herein,we believe it is time to improve the understanding of the prevailing Ethereum-based DeFi ecosystem security issues.To that end,we investigate the Ethereum-based DeFi security issues:1)inherited from the real-world financial system,which can be solved by macro-control;2)induced by the problems of blockchain architecture,which require a better blockchain platform;3)caused by DeFi invented applications,which should be focused on during the project development.Based on that,we further discuss the current solutions and potential directions ofDeFi security.According to our research,we could provide a comprehensive vision to the research community for the improvement of Ethereum-basedDeFi ecosystem security.

Evidence on result-based financing in maternal and child health in low-and middle-income countries:a systematic review

Introduction:Result-Based Financing(RBF)is an umbrella term for financial mechanisms that link incentives to outputs or outcomes.International development agencies are promoting RBF as a viable financing approach for the realization of universal health coverage,with numerous pilot trials,particularly in low-and middle-income countries(LMICs).There is limited synthesized evidence on the performance of these mechanisms and the reasons for the lack of RBF institutionalization.This study aims to review the evidence of RBF schemes that have been scaled or institutionalized at a national level,focusing on maternal,newborn,and child health(MNCH)programming in LMICs.Methods:A systematic literature review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)guidelines.The authors identified and reviewed country-level RBF evaluation reports for the period between January 2000 and June 2019.Data were extracted from both published and gray literature on RBF application in MNCH using a predesigned matrix.The matrix headers included country of application;program setting;coverage and duration;evaluation design and methods;outcome measures;and key findings.A content thematic analysis approach was used to synthesize the evidence and emerging issues.Results:The review identified 13 reports from 11 countries,predominantly from Sub-Saharan Africa.Performancebased financing was the most common form of RBF initiatives.The majority of evaluation designs were randomized trials.The evaluations focused on outputs,such as coverage and service utilization,rather than outcomes.RBF schemes in all 11 countries expanded their scope,either geographically or accordingly in terms of performance indicators.Furthermore,only three studies conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis,and only two included a discussion on RBF’s sustainability.Only three countries have institutionalized RBF into their national policy.On the basis of the experience of these three countries,the common enabling factors for institutionalization seem to be political will,domestic fund mobilization,and the incorporation of demand-side RBF tools.Conclusion:RBF evidence is still growing,partial,and inconclusive.This limited evidence may be one of the reasons why many countries are reluctant to institutionalize RBF.Additional research is needed,particularly regarding costeffectiveness,affordability,and sustainability of RBF programs.

Health financing for universal health coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa:a systematic review

Background:Universal health coverage(UHC)embedded within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,is defined by the World Health Organization as all individuals having access to required health services,of sufficient quality,without suffering financial hardship.Effective strategies for financing healthcare are critical in achieving this goal yet remain a challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa(SSA).This systematic review aims to determine reported health financing mechanisms in SSA within the published literature and summarize potential learnings.Methods:A systematic review was conducted aligned with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)reporting guidelines.On 19 to 30 July 2019,MEDLINE,EMBASE,Web of Science,Global Health Database,the Cochrane Library,Scopus and JSTOR were searched for literature published from 2005.Studies describing health financing approaches for UHC in SSA were included.Evidence was synthesised in form of a table and thematic analysis.Results:Of all records,39 papers were selected for inclusion.Among the included studies,most studies were conducted in Kenya(n=7),followed by SSA as a whole(n=6)and Nigeria(n=5).More than two thirds of the selected studies reported the importance of equitable national health insurance schemes for UHC.The results indicate that a majority of health care revenue in SSA is from direct out-of-pocket payments.Another common financing mechanism was donor funding,which was reported by most of the studies.The average quality score of all studies was 81.6%,indicating a high appraisal score.The interrater reliability Cohen’s kappa score,κ=0.43(p=0.002),which showed a moderate level of agreement.Conclusions:Appropriate health financing strategies that safeguard financial risk protection underpin sustainable health services and the attainment of UHC.It is evident from the review that innovative health financing strategies in SSA are needed.Some limitations of this review include potentially skewed interpretations due to publication bias and a higher frequency of publications included from two countries in SSA.Establishing evidence-based and multi-sectoral strategies tailored to country contexts remains imperative.

Impact of carbon disclosure on debt financing costs

Creditors,such as banks,often use disclosed environmental information to assess a company’s environmental risk and ensure the safety of debt funds.Consequently,carbon disclosures have become an important consideration for creditors when making investments.This study explores the relationship between carbon disclosure and debt financing costs using data on listed companies from 2008 to 2019.The results show that carbon disclosure can reduce the debt financing costs of enterprises,and that this influence is more significant for private companies than for state-owned enterprises.Instrumental variables and Propensity Score Matching(PSM)were used to evaluate the robustness of negative relationships.Furthermore,carbon disclosure has a more significant impact on debt costs with less environmental supervision pressure,weak residents’environmental awareness,and weak product market competition.These findings provide guidance for companies’carbon information disclosure and support the establishment of official carbon disclosure standards.

State-Owned Capital Participation in Private Enterprises:A Perspective of Debt Financing

This study takes debt financing as the entry point and explores the impact of state-owned capital participation in private enterprises from the perspectives of“unarticulated rules”and“articulated rules”.The study finds that state-owned capital participation significantly reduces the debt financing costs of private enterprises and expands the scale of their debt financing.This conclusion remains valid after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests.Further analysis of the mechanism reveals that state-owned capital participation improves the debt financing of private enterprises through multiple channels:Enhancing their social reputation,mitigating the“statistical bias”they face,optimizing their information quality,and reducing the“shareholder-creditor”agency problems.This paper conceptualizes these benefits as the“complementary advantages of heterogeneous shareholders”.This not only constructs a theoretical framework for“reverse mixed-ownership reform”but also better narrates the Chinese story of“mixed-ownership reform”by adopting a more universally applicable theory of equity structure.Additionally,the paper supplements existing research on the macro-and meso-level relationship between the government and the market by exploring the government’s positive role at the micro-level.

Research on the Coordinated Development of Inclusive Finance and Financing for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

As an important force in promoting economic and social development,small and medium-sized enterprises play a crucial role in enhancing China’s economic strength,creating employment opportunities,and promoting industrial structural transformation.However,due to their inherent weaknesses,small and medium-sized enterprises often face difficulties in financing within the traditional financial service system.This makes it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to inject vitality into the development of the market economy by expanding their financing scale.Since 2013,China has vigorously developed inclusive finance and extended the services of traditional financial institutions to small and medium-sized enterprises,providing policy guidance,resource support,and technical support to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and medium-sized enterprises.Based on this,this article focuses on the current financing problems faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and specifically elaborates on how to lower the financing threshold for small and medium-sized enterprises and broaden their financing channels through inclusive finance,in order to promote the development of inclusive finance and a virtuous cycle of financing for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Research on the High-Quality Development of Agricultural Supply Chain Financial Ecosystem Empowered by Science and Technology

A systematic perspective on agricultural supply chain finance can offer fresh insights into its development.The high-quality development of the agricultural supply chain finance ecosystem is crucial for the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas and the realization of agricultural power.Based on the current state of development of this ecosystem,this paper identifies several bottlenecks,such as insufficient policy and technical support in the macro-environment system,weak incentives for independent circulation within the industrial environment system,and inadequate motivation for stakeholders to participate in the micro-environment system.To address these issues,this paper proposes that the visualization,digitalization,and authenticity characteristics of the“blockchain+Internet of Things”technology architecture can effectively resolve these bottlenecks.Additionally,targeted strategies are suggested to promote the high-quality development of the agricultural supply chain finance ecosystem.

A Positive Signal

China removes last curbs on foreign investment in manufacturing to make the industry high-end,intelligent,and green.IN October,Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Group opened its co-creation center in Shanghai,the group’s largest and most diverse office in China,integrating finance,logistics,IT,and international procurement.

DEBT MATURITY STRUCTURE IN PROJECT FINANCING

Based on the concept of debt duration,this paper proposes the elasticity of cash flow.Then,the debt maturity structure in project financing is discussed.The results show that in the project financing structure,the debt maturity structure is closely related with debt capacity.Higher debt ratio requires short term debt,and vise versa.