On the morning of October 20, 2023, the 21st (total 182nd) DUFE • Accounting and Finance Forum was held at Tencent Meeting on line as scheduled, which invited Mr. Lei Zhang, Assistant Professor of Accounting Department, School of Business, Simon Fraser University, Canada. Professor Lei Zhang shared his academic paper entitled "Regulatory Enforcement on Public Disclosure and Connected Investors in Corporate Bond Issuance" with the attending teachers and students.
The paper focuses on the negative impact of regulatory comment letters (CLs) on corporate bond issuance and the role that connected investors’ participation in the issuance play in mitigating the CLs’ negative impact. Professor Lei Zhang and his partners find that issuers are less likely to issue bonds after receiving CLs, suggesting that the regulators’ concerns about issuers’ public disclosures negatively affect the issuance. However, for the bonds that issued successfully, they find that connected investors receive larger allotments for the bonds from CL-recipients than non-CL-recipients. The study also finds that the quid pro quo relationship between the CL-recipient and the issuer may account for the latter’s support for bond issuance.
Professor Zhang's research triggered strong resonance and lively discussion among the attending teachers and students. The success of the forum is of great significance in expanding the research horizons of teachers and students.
