How Does ESG Performance Impact Corporate Financing Costs? An Empirical Study in China

Abstract

In the background of the green transformation of the economy and society, the ESG performance of enterprises has been paid more and more attention in the investment decision-making. However, previous studies have inadequately explored how the ESG performance affects corporate financing costs. Based on the information asymmetry theory, this paper analyzes the impact mechanism of ESG performance on corporate financing costs. Then, taking 1044 A-share listed companies in 2016–2020 as a sample, through the sorting and analysis of ESG report disclosure and rating data, the company’s ESG performance indicators are obtained, and an empirical model is built to test the relationship between ESG performance and corporate financing costs. This paper constructs a panel regression model using ESG rating data and corporate financial data and finds that in the overall sample, the higher the ESG performance, the lower the equity financing cost; The higher the ESG performance, the lower the debt financing cost. In addition, it also discussed the moderating effect of enterprise scale and media attention on the impact of ESG performance on enterprise financing costs. The empirical results show that the influence of company size on ESG performance on financing costs has a moderating effect and a positive moderating effect.