The dynamic evolution of Chinese firms' cash holdings and R&D: external financing facilitation channels

摘要

We study the dynamic evolution of Chinese firms' cash holdings and their relationship with R&D investment using a sample of companies listed in the Chinese A-share market. After introducing the exogenous events of the 2008 financial crisis and China's 'four trillion yuan' monetary stimulus plan (2008-2010), we analyse the dynamic evolution of the relationship between firms' cash holdings and R&D investment in the development of external financing facilitation channel effects from the perspective of two typical financing facilitation channels, namely bank relationship and equity state-ownership. The main findings are as follows: (1) Firms with higher R&D investments tend to hold more cash reserves. This positive correlation is affected by the economic and monetary conditions, which are changing constantly. The sensitivity of cash holdings to R&D investment plays a crucial role in explaining the dynamic evolution of Chinese firms' cash holdings. (2) During the 2008 financial crisis, bank relationship and equity state-ownership significantly mitigated the positive relationship between firms' cash holdings and R&D investments, which means that external financing facilitation channels had greater and more significant effects. Moreover, those effects decreased after the completion of the 'four trillion yuan' monetary stimulus plan.