Macau approves asset exchange backed by former HKEX boss Charles Li as it diversifies economy

Micro Connect (Macau) Financial Assets Exchange, a new blockchain platform, will allow small Chinese companies to raise funds from international investors

Charles Li is a veteran whose experience will be helpful for establishing an exchange in Macau, analyst says

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Former HKEX CEO Charles Li Xiaojia launched Micro Connect in August last year. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 9:20pm, 5 Dec 2022

Macau has approved a new asset-exchange platform backed by Charles Li Xiaojio, the former CEO of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), in the latest sign that the former Portuguese colony is diversifying its economy to cut reliance on gaming and tourism.

Micro Connect (Macau) Financial Assets Exchange, a new blockchain platform, will allow small Chinese companies to raise funds from international investors, it said on Monday.

The exchange was established through an executive order signed by Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng on November 30, but the government only disclosed it on Monday on its website. The exchange has a paid-up capital of at least 120 million patacas (US$15 million) and will be regulated by the Monetary Authority of Macau.

“We are excited about launching this new exchange and developing a more inclusive and sustainable financial market,” said Li, who is the founder and chairman of Micro Connect, which is the new exchange’s holding company. “The exchange will be at the core of our Micro Connect market ecosystem. A platform that will offer liquidity and price discovery for a new asset class, to enable investors to deploy capital more efficiently.”

Micro Connect’s exchange is the second to be approved by Macau, after Chongwa (Macau) Financial Asset Exchange founded by Namkwong (Group) was established in August 2018 to provide bond offerings. It also comes after Beijing announced a raft of policies in December 2019 aimed at diversifying Macau’s economy by building its financial services industry.

A core part of the measures announced was the establishment of a Nasdaq-like stock exchange trading in the yuan, but no launch date has been set for this exchange.