On 5 March 2026, the Faculty of Finance at the City University of Macau organized the eleventh Academic Salon at the Golden Dragon Campus. This academic salon invited Dr. Yanlei Zhang from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, as the speaker. He presented his paper titled “The Unintended Impact of Mandatory ESG Disclosure on Firms’ Access to Global Markets”.
This paper examines the real effect of mandatory ESG disclosure in China on firms’ access to global markets. There has been growing advocacy among academics and practitioners for the development of green global supply chains. If the benefits of ESG disclosure dominate in the supply chain perspective, the mandate should facilitate firms participating in the global supply chain as exporters. However, the findings diverge from this prediction. Treatment firms experience a significant reduction in exports after the mandate. The decreasing effect on exports can be attributed to the increased operating costs induced by the disclosure mandate. These findings highlight the need for further progress in reshaping a business environment conducive to building a green global supply chain.
Dr. Yanlei Zhang is currently an Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark and a Research Fellow at the Danish Finance Institute. He received his Ph.D. from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain. His research focuses on financial analysis, ESG, and the digital economy. His research has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, The International Journal of Accounting, among others.
In this academic salon, Dr. Zhang shared his latest research findings with the Faculty of Finance, broadening the academic scope of the faculty. The Faculty of Finance Academic Salon at the City University of Macau is a platform for exchanging academic ideas and enhancing academic awareness. The Salon focuses on finance and economics, inviting experts from academia and the financial industry to discuss cutting-edge research and share industry development trends, aiming to bring new academic experiences and thinking models to the faculty and students of the university. Through academic activities like the academic salon, the Faculty of Finance provides a better academic platform for graduate students and encourage further exploration and research of academic issues among faculty and students.