The impact of digital finance on SMEs financialization: Evidence from thirty million Chinese enterprise registrations

Based on the registration information of 30 million Chinese enterprises, this study innovatively constructs a financialization index based on the text information of enterprise business scope. Then, the impact of digital finance on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financialization is examined. Specifically, this study screens out SMEs involved in financial transactions by counting the keyword information in their business scope. The level of SME financialization is measured at the provincial level, based on a large number of registration samples. Empirical results based on panel fixed effects show that digital finance significantly inhibits SME financialization. On average, for each standard deviation increase in digital finance, SME financialization decreases by 0.087 standard deviations. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness analyses. A mechanism analysis shows that digital finance inhibits SME financialization by alleviating financing constraints, especially by providing liquidity to SMEs with relatively high financing constraints. In addition, the risk consequences of SME financialization are further examined, and SME financialization is found to significantly increase bankruptcy risk, while digital finance alleviates financing constraints and thus reduces bankruptcy risk. This study provides a new perspective for the governance of SME financialization and the optimization of the survival environment for SMEs in the context of the digital economy.