Professor Yu Minggui, the co-director of the base (the first author), AN Jianfeng (School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law), ZHENG Xinrui (researcher of the base), and LI Jinyang (School of Economics, Shenyang University of Technology) published a collaborative paper titled "The Construction of a Unified National Market and High-quality Financial Development: A Study Based on Breaking the Segmentation of Bond Markets" in the 40th Volume, Issue 3 of Management World in 2024.

Abstract：The Chinese bond market is primarily composed of the inter-bank bond market and the exchange bond market. Historically, most banks were restricted to investing only in the inter-bank bond market until August 2019, when they were granted access to the exchange bond market. This paper examines the policy impact of this reform by studying whether breaking the segmentation of the bond market can improve capital market efficiency and promote financial development.The research findings reveal that the bank access reform significantly reduced the credit spreads in the secondary market for exchange bonds. Mechanism analysis suggests that this access has increased the liquidity of exchange bonds, reduced information asymmetry, and thus lowered bond credit spreads. Furthermore, the reform has also lowered credit spreads in the primary market for exchange bonds, thereby decreasing bond financing costs. Heterogeneity analysis finds that the reduction in credit spreads is more pronounced for bonds issued by private enterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises in the secondary market, while it is more significant for bonds with strong business performance and high credit ratings in the primary market. Economic consequence tests indicate that the bank access reform has promoted corporate investment.This paper contributes to the research on the construction of a unified national market and the influencing factors of bond credit spreads. It also provides theoretical support and policy recommendations for further developing a unified national market, increasing the proportion of direct financing, and promoting high-quality financial development.

Keywords：Unified National Market, Financial Development, Capital Market Reform, Bond Market Segmentation, Credit Spreads

LINK：https://xkw.zuel.edu.cn/upload/20240321/202403211735109444.pdf

Author profile

YU Minggui is the Dean, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the School of Finance at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. He is also the Co-Director of the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance. He has been selected for the Ministry of Education's New Century Excellent Talents Support Program and has presided over multiple National Natural Science Foundation projects. He has published over 70 articles in journals such as Economic Research, Management World, Quarterly Journal of Economics, World Economy, China Industrial Economics, Financial Research, Economic Modelling, and Pacific-Basin Finance Journal. Many of his articles have been highly cited and ranked among the top in their respective fields. He also serves as an editor for journals such as Accounting and Finance.

AN Jianfeng, Doctoral Candidate, School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

ZHENG Xinrui is an annually paid associate professor at the School of Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. She holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge in the UK. She is also a researcher at the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance. Zheng has presided over a youth project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and participated in a key project funded by the National Social Science Fund. She has been awarded the Outstanding Paper Award by the Southern Finance Association (SFA) in the United States and has reviewed papers for the Financial Management Association (FMA) annual conference. Her research has been interviewed by BoardIQ, a subsidiary of the Financial Times (FT) in the UK, and cited by the German Institutional Money magazine.

LI Jinyang is a full-time teacher in the Finance Department of the School of Economics at Shenyang University of Technology. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the School of Finance at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.