# **Appendix Table 4. Variable Definitions**

This table describes the main firm-level variables used in the paper.

|**Variable**|**Definition**|
|---|---|
|Acquisitions|Assets acquired through a pooling of interests or mergers. It does not include the capital expenditures of acquired companies. It<br>includes net assets of acquired companies, additions to fixed assets from acquisitions, and working capital of companies acquired.<br>Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source: Wordscope.|
|Capital Expenditure|Funds used to acquire fixed assets other than those associated with acquisitions. It includes additions to property and<br>investments in plants, machinery, and equipment. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source: Wordscope.|
|Cash Flow|Operating income over total assets (ratio). Operating income represents the difference between revenue and operating expenses.<br>Source: Wordscope.|
|Cash Flow Volatility|The standard deviation of cash flow over 1991-2012.|
|Cash and Short-term<br>Investments|The sum of cash and short-term investments. It includes cash on hand, cash in banks, checks in transit, money orders, demand<br>deposits (non-interest bearing), short-term obligations of the U.S. Government, stocks, bonds, other marketable securities listed<br>as short-term investments, time deposits, and U.S. Treasury bills. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source: Wordscope.|
|EquityRaised|The total amount of equityraisedperyear. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source: Refinitiv's SDC Platinum.|
|Financial Firms|Firms with a Standard Industrial Classification(SIC)code between 60 and 67. Source: Worldscope.|
|Foreign Owership|Total value of shares held by investors whose main residence address is outside mainland China over the total value of shares.<br>Source: Refinitiv.|
|Leverage|Total debt over total assets (ratio).|
|Marging Trading Stocks|Dummy variable that equals one for firms with stocks that became available for margin trading during 2010-2017. Source: Hong<br>KongStock Exchange webpage.|
|Market Capitalization|Product of equity market price (fiscal period end) x common shares outstanding. For companies with more than one type of<br>common/ordinary share, market capitalization represents the total market value of the company. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S.<br>dollars. Source: Wordscope.|
||Dummy variable that equals one for firms with stocks purchased by the Chinese national team during 2015-19. According to|
|Government Stock<br>Purchases|Wind database, the national team is represented by five groups: (i) CSF (China Securities Finance Corporation Limited), (ii) CCH<br>(China Central Huijin Investment Limited), (iii) affiliates of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, (iv) CSF customized<br>asset management plans, and (v) CSF customized funds. Source: Wind.|
|Research and<br>Development|Direct and indirect costs related to the creation and development of new processes, techniques, applications, and products with<br>commercial possibilities. It includes software design and development expenses. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source:<br>Wordscope.|
|State Owned|Firms whose main(top1)shareholder is agovernment-connected entity. Source: Wind.|
|Total Assets|The sum of total current assets, long-term receivables, investment in unconsolidated subsidiaries, other investments, net property<br>plant and equipment,and other assets. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source: Wordscope.|
|Total Debt|The sum of long and short-term debt. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source: Wordscope.|
|Total Sources of Funds|Total funds generated by the company internally and externally during the fiscal period. Unit: Constant 2011 U.S. dollars. Source:<br>Wordscope.|