| Leverage manipulation is closely related to the healthy development of capital market and national economic prospects at both micro and macro levels.With the new development strategy of the 14th Five-Year Plan,we will keep the macro leverage ratio stable and achieve a steady decline.Foreign scholars have long covered the issue of companies using "off-balance sheet debt","famous stocks and real debt" and other ways to cover up the high asset-liability ratio and other financial risks.However,these studies are on the one hand due to the limited amount of literature,on the other hand,they only discuss the specific financing behaviors of some companies,but rarely mention the new concept of "leverage operation".Xu Xiaofang et al.,Lu Zhengfei et al.,clearly defined the meaning of "leverage",and created an index to measure the "degree of leverage manipulation"--XLT-LEVM method,and pointed out that leverage manipulation is more obvious in highly leveraged enterprises.Therefore,on this basis,the factors affecting the degree of leverage manipulation of real estate enterprises with high leverage characteristics are studied to provide reference basis and policy enlightenment for real estate enterprises to optimize the deleveraging effect.Based on the above background,this paper firstly combs the existing literature,discusses the related theory,and then analyzes the policy environment and financing status of listed real estate enterprises in our country.This paper discusses the main motives and common means of leverage manipulation in Chinese real estate enterprises.Based on the analysis of the existing literature,from the perspective of the prior motivation of leverage manipulation,management decision-making and board supervision,this paper measures the strength of prior motivation with the pledge of the controlling shareholder’s equity,measures the level of management decision-making with the concentration of ownership,and measures the effect of board supervision with the degree of gender diversity of the board.Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares,2012-2021 listed real estate enterprises as samples.stata16.0 was used to establish panel data and empirically explore the factors affecting the degree of leverage manipulation of listed real estate enterprises.Through the above analysis,it is required that in the process of promoting the deleveraging of real estate enterprises,we should not only pay attention to policy supervision,but also need enterprises to strengthen their own capabilities and guarantee their own sources of capital.This paper draws the following conclusions:(1)The degree of leverage manipulation of the enterprises whose controlling shareholders have equity pledge is higher than that of the enterprises without equity pledge.And with the increase of the proportion of equity pledge,the possibility of leverage manipulation is also higher.It may be because the real estate enterprises that have pledged the controlling shareholder’s equity will whitewash the financial leverage in order to obtain more financing for the purpose of market value management and preventing loss of control.(2)The larger the proportion of shares held by major shareholders,the more obvious the inhibition effect on corporate leverage manipulation behavior.Although the high concentration of ownership will have an impact on the balance of power,for the real estate industry facing a severe environment,it is conducive to make quick and effective decisions,improve the business situation of enterprises,and reduce leverage manipulation.(3)The degree of leverage manipulation of listed real estate enterprises with female directors is lower than that of enterprises without female directors.In addition,the higher the proportion of female directors in the board of directors,the stronger the inhibition effect on corporate leverage manipulation behavior.The participation of female directors greatly improves the supervision efficiency of the board of directors,enhances the information transparency of the enterprise,and thus restrains the leverage manipulation behavior of the management.Therefore,this paper puts forward the following policy suggestions:At the enterprise level,actively explore the equity structure suitable for the enterprise,enhance the inclusiveness of the enterprise,take the initiative to attract excellent women to the board of directors,and enhance the supervision effect of the board of directors;On the premise of focusing on the main business,constantly explore new development strategies and models;Accelerate digital transformation and optimize online services;Expand financing channels.At the policy level,stabilize the source of funds to meet the reasonable financing needs of housing enterprises;Optimize the pre-sale system;Appropriately adjust the housing market policy to meet reasonable housing demand;We will improve the risk handling mechanism. |
