Hanzhang ZHENG / 郑含章
Ph.D. Candidate of University of Geneva, and Swiss Finance Institute
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Welcome! I am Hanzhang ZHENG (郑含章), a third-year PhD candidate in Finance at University of Geneva and Swiss Finance Institute. I hold both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Accounting from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
Welcome! I am Hanzhang ZHENG (郑含章), a third-year PhD candidate in Finance at University of Geneva and Swiss Finance Institute. I hold both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Accounting from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
I focus on advancing research in the field of finance and politics, corporate governance, and financial markets. I study how institutions shape firm behavior and market outcomes. One line of my work examines regulatory capture and conflicts of interest in China’s IPO approval system. Another ongoing agenda uses large-scale Chinese court decision data and natural language processing to document judicial quality, inequality, and their economic consequences.
I focus on advancing research in the field of finance and politics, corporate governance, and financial markets. I study how institutions shape firm behavior and market outcomes. One line of my work examines regulatory capture and conflicts of interest in China’s IPO approval system. Another ongoing agenda uses large-scale Chinese court decision data and natural language processing to document judicial quality, inequality, and their economic consequences.
Research
Research
Working Paper
China’s IPO Screening with Partial Regulatory Capture
(Dec, 2025)
with Heng Geng and Harald Hau
Abstract: China’s IPO approval process co-opts audit firm representatives into the regulatory decisionmaking body, creating conflicts of interest and potential channels for corruption. We show evidence that co-opted audit firms (i) do not differ in their audit practice of listed firms from other audit firms, but (ii) attract more borderline IPO clients that marginally meet the listing requirements, (iii) increase the chance of IPO approval for their borderline candidates, which (iv) afterwards underperform regular IPO stocks by 45% in terms of their average two-year buy and hold return. Moreover, (v) these borderline IPO firms show poorer accounting profitability, suggesting potential misrepresentation of firm prospects at the IPO stage.
Research Seminars and Conference
Research Seminars and Conference
Presentations:
2026: European Winter Finance Conference, conference
2024: UniGe Brown Bag Seminar (scheduled), seminar
2024: 1st Fraud and Manipulation in Financial Markets Conference, conference
2024: SFI Research Days, conference
2023: UniGe Regular Seminar Series, seminar
Conference Discussions:
2024: SFI Research Days, Gerzensee, Switzerland
Education
Education
University of Geneva (UniGe)
Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) PhD Program in Finance
Thesis Advisor: Prof. Harald Hau
Title: PhD in Finance (Ph.D.)
Geneva, Switzerland
September 2023-
Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL)
Title: Master of Science in Accounting (M.sc.)
Wuhan, China
September 2020-June 2023
Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL)
Title: Bachelor of Science in Accounting (B.sc.)
Wuhan, China
September 2016-June 2020
Teaching
Teaching
Asset Pricing and Corporate Finance I
University of Geneva, 2024, Fall semester , English
Level: Bachelor
Role: Teaching Assistant
Asset Management
University of Geneva, 2025, Spring semester , English
Level: Master
Role: Teaching Assistant
Experience
Experience
Guangfa Security
Internship, Industry Research Institute (Banking sector)
Shanghai, China
November 2019-May 2020
References
References
Professor Harald Hau
Professor of Finance
University of Geneva, CEPR, and Swiss Finance Institute (SFI)
Professor Heng Geng
Professor of Finance
Victoria University of Wellington
griffin.geng@vuw.ac.nz
Contact
Contact
Address
University of Geneva
Geneva Finance Institute
Uni Pignon
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
SSRN
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