Abstract
This paper studies the factors
influencing the leverage ratio of non-financial enterprises in the Guangdong,
Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) from 2007 to
2017. On the whole, the leverage ratio of non-financial enterprises in the
greater bay area is not high. From the perspective of ownership, state-owned
enterprises have a higher leverage ratio than non-state-owned enterprises. The
leverage ratio differs significantly across industries. From the regional
perspective, before 2008, enterprises in Macao had the lowest leverage ratio,
and those in Guangdong had the highest. In recent years, the corporate leverage
ratio has tended to be similar among the enterprises in Guangdong, Hong Kong
and Macao. Corporate profitability is the most important micro-level factor
affecting the leverage ratio, and economic growth has the most significant
direct impact on the leverage ratio of non-state-owned enterprises. In
addition, the economic growth rate, the M2 growth rate and policy uncertainty
have a clear indirect impact on the leverage ratio.
JEL classification numbers: G11, G24, G34.
Keywords: Guangdong-Hong
Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Leverage ratio, Influencing factors, Two-way fixed
effects.