Abstract:
Under the combined influence of technological innovation and policy guidance, an increasing number of firms are using data assets to drive business transformation and value creation, fundamentally transforming the logic of corporate financing and the credit decision-making frameworks of banks. Using a sample of A-share firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, this paper finds that firms with higher levels of data assets—that is, firms that own or control more data resources expected to generate economic benefits—obtain larger volumes of bank credit, borrow at lower cost, and secure more long-term bank loans. Three mechanisms account for this effect. First, dynamic risk early-warning systems and standardized frameworks for evaluating external partners, both built upon multidimensional data, help sustain the stability of firm operations. Second, in-depth analysis of customer-behavior and internal R & D data, along with data sharing with partners, raises the quantity, quality, and efficiency of corporate innovation. Third, the construction of an end-to-end data chain, together with the close attention and interpretation it attracts from the media and analysts, improves the firm's information environment. Further analysis shows that the effect of data assets on access to credit is more pronounced among firms in industries with lower competitive intensity and among firms without established bank-firm relationships. The expansion of corporate credit reflects banks' recognition of the long-term value of data assets and their initiative in raising credit limits, rather than firms' turning to bank credit to fill funding gaps left by insufficient internally retained funds. Because the value of data assets is released over a long horizon and in a sustained manner, it aligns with the emphasis that long-term lending places on a borrower's enduring capacity to service debt; accordingly, relative to short-term loans, equity financing, and trade credit, data assets exert a markedly stronger effect on firms' long-term borrowing. This paper offers a reference for deepening our understanding of the financing function of data assets and for firms seeking to improve their access to credit.
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