Accounts Receivable Reform and Financing Constraints: Evidence from China’s A-Share Market

The commercial bill, as a regulated commercial credit mode, offers better creditor protection, more financing channels, and stronger bargaining power in financing. This paper creatively constructs bills receivable index in the micro level of enterprises and examines the potential impact of billing of accounts receivable on the financing constraints faced by enterprises. This paper also explores the mechanism that causes the impact and check whether the establishment of the Shanghai Commercial Paper Exchange Corporation (SHCPE) has had positive effects. The results show that billing can alleviate the financing constraints of enterprises due to its benefits offered by the commercial bill. Furthermore, the establishment of the Shanghai Commercial Paper Exchange Corporation (SHCPE) can lead to the development of a standardized and transparent bill market, further alleviating the financing constraints. The study also reveals that billing of accounts receivable affects financing constraints mainly by enhancing the quality of debt-like assets and reducing information asymmetry between enterprises and the outside world. For enterprises with longer maturity structure, the effect of billing on the alleviation of financing constraints is more significant.