We show that 70% of Chinese listed companies are ultimately controlled by government agencies, thereby indicating that state ownership remains widespread in China's stock markets. Three questions are considered that are related to government control structures and their impact on firm value: (1)...

Does government control reduce firm value? A strong government control helps the government to extract social or political benefits from a state-controlled firm, thus decreases its value; but it also makes it more effective for the government to monitor the firm management, thus increases its...