Former Hong Kong exchange CEO Charles Li aims to list start-up in small-firm financing
Charles Li Xiaojia, the former CEO of Hong Kong’s stock-exchange operator, aims to return to the bourse he once ran – as the head of a listed company.
Micro Connect International Finance Company, an investment company set up in May, applied on Wednesday to list under the exchange’s Chapter 21 listing rule, which is tailored for investment companies to raise funds from institutional investors.
Li, 64, stepped down as CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) in 2021 after a decade at the helm.
“It is nice to come home,” Li told the Post on Thursday. He declined to specify a fundraising target. The proceeds would be used to make investments in start-ups and companies with cash flow to provide a return to shareholders, the filing said. Li is Micro Connect’s chairman and executive director.
The company, which has no current operations, is among six companies that filed for listings on Wednesday, underlining strong momentum this year for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the city. A total of 43 new listing applications have come in so far this month, increasing the population of hopefuls to 200.
