On September 3, the 4th PwC 3535 Finance Forum, an important event of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), was held at the Beijing National Convention Center. Qi Yunfei, a teacher from the School of Accounting at CUEB, was awarded the Best Paper Award and the title of Strategic Young Scholar. The winning paper Capital Markets and Corporate Investment and Financing Decisions: Evidence from China’s IPO Pricing System Changes, jointly authored by Qi and Hu Conghui, was published in the August 2021 issue of Economic Research Journal.

The PwC 3535 Finance Forum was founded by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) China in 2020. The theme for this year was “Promoting High-Quality Development, Focusing on Finance, Accounting, ESG, and Regional Economy”. It targeted at young scholars under the age of 35 from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR, with a total of 296 relevant papers from 80 universities and research institutions submitted for review. The Academic Review Committee, comprising 19 renowned professors from universities and research institutions, selected 35 papers for nomination awards based on whether they are instructive for academics and profession and beneficial for addressing important issues. Among these papers, 10 were chosen as the best papers of the year.

The comment by the forum: according to Qi and his co-author, affected by the IPO pricing cap, firms with fair valuations much higher than the ceiling P/E ratio manipulate the size of equity and issue shares at the minimum price requirement so as to squeeze the number of shares sold at the time of being listed. But the probability and scale of seasoned equity offering after being listed have increased sharply. Although firms manage to circumvent the limits of pricing regulations, the IPO pricing cap still has a significant adverse impact on overall equity financing efficiency and major investment activities. The conclusion of the paper provides significant insights for regulatory institutions in fully understanding the consequence of the IPO pricing system and balancing its pros and cons at the macro level.

The School of Accounting of CUEB has always been committed to fostering high-level research achievements. Qi’s achievements include the Third Prize at the 8th University Scientific Research Outstanding Achievement Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) and the Best Paper Award at the 2nd Chinese Academy of Finance and Accounting Annual Conference. Under the guidance and support of CUEB, this award represents another outstanding milestone for the School of Accounting, which has long prioritized the integrated development of industry, education and research, as well as addressing real social challenges.