Information Asymmetry, Regulatory Inquiry, and Company Mergers and Acquisitions

The comment letter data is available since December 2014 when the M&A comment letter policy launched. We only choose companies listed on the SZSE, because it provides unique data on the information disclosure rating of its listed companies. Our sample comprises M&A transactions announced from 2015 to 2016 of A-share listed companies in the SZSE. The comment letter data obtained from the website of the SZSE. Cautiously, we compare data sources of Wind, China Securities Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR), and CNINFO to ensure that all comment letters during the sample period are covered. The number of questions inquired, the size of the comment letter documents, and whether the M&A case is cross-regional or cross-industry are collected manually. The internal control data is from China’s Listed Company Internal Control Index issued by DIB Enterprise Risk Management Technology Co. Ltd., and other financial data are from the CSMAR Database.