Third-party Certification,credit Ratings,and Financing Costs

In recent years,the green economy has become an important part of modern economic development,and green bonds have also received more and more attention in the international market.At the same time,China’s green bond market is developing rapidly,occupying an important seat in the international green bond market.In the development process of the green bond market,financing costs are the targets that companies and investors focus on when making investment and financing decisions.However,under asymmetric information conditions,financing costs will be affected by credit risk,and third-party certification and credit rating will help solve the problem of credit risk of green bonds.Therefore,based on the relevant data of green bonds issued by enterprises from 2017 to March 6,2020,this paper studies the impact of third-party certification and credit ratings on green bond financing costs.The research results show that the financing cost of green bonds is significantly negatively correlated with third-party certification and credit ratings.First of all,the third-party certification conveys the green signal of bonds to investors,and the financing cost of third-party certified green bonds has been significantly reduced.Secondly,the credit rating system aims to improve market efficiency by providing true and reliable public information.A good credit rating significantly reduces the financing cost of green bonds.In addition,when the credit rating of green bonds is low,third-party certification can play a role of credit endorsement for green bonds,which has a more significant effect on reducing the financing cost of green bonds.Subsequently,through analysis of other influencing factors,we found that: in terms of the reputation of third-party certification institutions,high-reputation third-party certification plays a positive role in reducing the financing cost of green bonds;the impact of financing costs is more significant in non-state-owned enterprises;in the use of raised funds,when the raised funds are used to repay borrowings,neither third-party certification nor credit rating can significantly affect the financing costs,but in third-party certification and credit under the common effect of ratings,the financing cost of green bonds can be significantly reduced.Finally,compared with debt ratings,third-party certification has a more significant effect on the credit endorsement of subject ratings.The above-mentioned research findings help to expand the relevant research on the impact of third-party certification and credit rating on the financing cost of green bonds,and provide an important reference for investment and financing investors in making decisions.