Linghao Zhang

[1] Rehman, Obaid Ur, Linghao Zhang, and Kai Wu. "Does interest rate liberalization affect corporate debt structure?." Journal of Financial Research. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.12449 [AJG 3]

This study examines how interest rate deregulation affects debt structure of Chinese listed firms through two quasi-natural experiments: the cap removal (2002–2006) and floor removal (2011–2015). Following deregulation, risky firms increase short-term debt while decreasing long-term and total debt, whereas non-risky firms exhibit opposite patterns. These changes are influenced by collateral requirements, industry cluster proximity, bank relationships, and ownership structure. The divergent outcomes reflect increased borrowing costs for risky firms and reduced costs for non-risky firms due to enhanced banking competition. Post-liberalization, risky firms face reduced risk exposure but increased asset-liability mismatches, while experiencing declining growth prospects. Conversely, non-risky firms demonstrate improved growth prospects and higher profitability with increased long-term debt. These findings illuminate how banking sector liberalization shapes corporate financial strategies.

[2] JiaQi Qin, Linghao Zhang, and Zhenbang Ma. " Reform of the Investment Approval System and Corporate Investment and Financing Term Matching: Evidence from the Online Approval and Supervision Platform for Investment Projects." Journal of Finance and Economics (财经研究). (2025). 10.16538/j.cnki.jfe.20241220.201

The "14th Five-Year Plan" emphasizes that deepening the reform of the investment and financing system is an important measure to promote the formation of a market-driven investment endogenous growth mechanism. This article uses the construction of provincial and municipal-level online approval and supervision platforms for investment projects since 2015 as a quasi-natural experiment and systematically examines the causal impact of the platform-led investment approval system reform on the maturity matching of corporate investment and financing through a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The research results show that the platform significantly alleviates the mismatch between corporate investment and financing maturities. Mechanism analysis indicates that the platform improves the efficient linkage and coordination between investment and financing by curbing inefficient corporate investments and mitigating financing constraints caused by information asymmetry. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the platform's corrective effects are stronger for enterprises with high real investment demand, higher managerial risk preferences, greater labor investment efficiency, and lower accessibility to bank loans. Furthermore, the platform helps optimize the regional business environment, guides enterprises to shift focus from speculative ventures to real economic activities, and promotes high-quality corporate performance growth. This article provides abundant empirical evidence for further optimizing platform construction and offers theoretical insights and policy recommendations from the perspective of investment system reform for establishing regular communication mechanisms between governments and enterprises and fully stimulating the investment vitality of market entities.

[3] Ye Tao, Linghao Zhang*, and Yiwen Ma. " ESG, ESG disagreement and Maturity Mismatch between Investment and Financing: Evidence from China." Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12851 [AJG 2]

This study investigates how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance, as well as disagreement in ESG ratings, influence the maturity mismatch between corporate investment and financing (MMIF). Our findings show that firms with higher ESG scores exhibit a lower degree of MMIF, suggesting that better ESG practices help alleviate maturity mismatches. However, inconsistencies in ESG evaluations across rating agencies reduce this beneficial effect. Further analysis indicates that disagreement among ESG ratings diminishes the ability of high ESG scores to relax financing constraints, which is identified as a critical mechanism for ESG’s impact on MMIF. The moderating impact of ESG disagreement is especially significant for firms in regions with less banking competition, those with greater information asymmetry, and non-state-owned enterprises. In addition, our results indicate that environmental and governance components are the main driving factors. These findings highlight the necessity of considering both ESG performance and disagreements in ESG assessments when evaluating firms’ investment and financing activities.

[4] Linghao Zhang, Xinwei Jin, and Kai Wu. "How Common Institutional Investors Adapts to Early Technology Adaption". Journal of Business Research. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115514 [AJG 3]

We examine how common institutional investors (CIIs) adapt to firms’ early adoption of intelligent manufacturing (IM) technologies in China. Employing a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) approach based on China’s IM Pilot projects, we find that CIIs significantly increase their ownership of firms after they adopt IM, suggesting strategic portfolio adjustments. This effect is stronger in industries with higher concentration and firms facing greater information asymmetry. We identify profitability and innovation as key channels through which early technology adoption influences CIIs’ investment decisions. Additionally, we demonstrate spillover effects from pilot to non-pilot firms through CIIs. Furthermore, the increase in common institutional ownership (CIO) resulting from early technology adoption reduces the stock price crash risk, demonstrating governance benefits. Our findings contribute to the understanding of CIO determinants and investor behavior in response to technological change, offering insights for policymakers on the intersection of technological advancement, ownership structures, and market competition.

[5] Yiwen Ma, Seoklin Yim, Linghao Zhang*. "The Cost of ESG Rating Disagreement: Increased Corporate Tax Avoidance in China". International Tax and Public Finance. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-025-09927-3 [AJG 2]

The existence of disagreement in ESG ratings has attracted significant attention from academia and industry, yet there is barely research on its impact on taxation. This paper examines the relationship between ESG rating disagreement and corporate tax avoidance using data from Chinese-listed firms during 2015-2022. We find that greater ESG rating disagreement significantly increases corporate tax avoidance, even after controlling for ESG scores. This suggests rating uncertainty influences tax strategies beyond ESG performance itself. To establish causality, we leverage the staggered expansion of ESG coverage by international raters as a quasi-natural experiment to conduct instrumental variable regression. Channel tests suggest that higher disagreement is associated with increased financing costs and constraints and weakened market power, prompting firms to cut taxes to increase internal funding. The results highlight an unintended consequence of ESG rating inconsistencies - heightened corporate tax avoidance. Standardization could mitigate this effect. Our study illuminates how emerging ESG considerations shape tax planning amid informational ambiguities.

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