Financial spillovers of foreign direct investment: Evidence from China

We study the financial spillovers of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to local suppliers through a trade credit channel and a bank loan channel. Using rich Chinese firm-level data, we provide robust evidence that a high concentration of FDI in downstream industries substantially reduces domestic suppliers' trade credit provision and improves their access to bank loans, especially unsecured loans. A variety of empirical strategies suggest that the effects are causal. Furthermore, the beneficial bank loan effect is more pronounced for local suppliers facing more severe information frictions. We also use supplier-customer links to provide additional evidence for FDI's financial spillovers.