l Topic: A Holistic View on Deprivatization

l Speaker: Prof. Sun Qian, professor of the Department of Finance, School of Management, Fudan University

l Date and Time: 14:00-15:00, May 26th, 2025 (Monday)

l Venue: T1-302-R1

l Language: English

Abstract: Is deprivatization a decision mainly aiming to mitigate/remove the limitations associated with private ownership or is it largely similar to a decision to sell a significant portion of ownership to another private entity? We address this issue by comparing the possible determinants and outcomes for a sample of deprivatized firms with their relevant peers in China during the period 2007-2021. In contrast to the existing literature which implicitly or explicitly assumes the deprivatization as a means to remove the limitations associated with the private ownership, especially in transitional economies, we argue and show that this is not necessarily the case as our findings reveal no overriding rationale for deprivatization, whether the comparison is drawn between private firms that have undergone deprivatization and those that have not experienced any substantial shifts in ownership, or between firms that have deprivatized and those that have sold significant stakes to other private entities. In essence, deprivatization and the sale of ownership to private entities can, to a significant extent, serve as alternatives to one another. Moreover, we observe that deprivatization does not necessarily confer superior performance advantages in the subsequent years when compared to peer firms. Our study has not only implications to the privatization literature but also practical implications to the on-going mixed ownership reform in China.

Biography: Professor Sun Qian is a professor of the Department of Finance of School of Management at Fudan University. He obtained his BA, MBA, and PhD degrees from Peking University, William Paterson College, and Arizona State University, respectively. His expertise is in the areas of international finance and corporate finance with a focus on China. He has published many papers in reputable finance journals including Journal of Financial Economics and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. He has taught in Nanyang Technological University and served as the Dean of the Institute for Financial and Accounting Studies at the Xiamen University and the head of the Department of Finance at Fudan’s School of Management. He is also a member of the Asian Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee and serves on the Board of Asian Finance Association. He has provided consultancy to many business and government entities.