Small Chinese firms turn to former HKEX CEO Charles Li’s revenue-sharing fintech platform for funding
- International investors have provided US$69.4 million to more than 1,200 clients since Micro Connect’s launch in August last year
- The popularity of the revenue-sharing platform reflects the difficulties small firms face in getting bank loans in tough economic conditions
A one-year-old fintech platform co-founded by the former boss of the Hong Kong stock exchange operator has proved much more popular than anticipated, providing funding for small firms in mainland China to help them grow amid an economic downturn.
International investors have, via the platform, given about 494 million yuan (US$69.4 million) to more than 1,200 small businesses, beating the company’s target to sign up 1,000 clients by the end of this year.
“We were much faster than we had planned,” said Li, who was the CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) for 11 years until the end of 2020. “Our investment ability has increased from a dozen [shops] a month to 300 a month now. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we will be able to invest in 500 shops a month and by early next year, we will be able to invest [in] up to 1,000 a month, and hopefully we can hit 15,000 a year.”
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Former HKEX chief unveils new foreign investment platform to finance Chinese small businesses
Some 40 million small and medium-sized enterprises and 90 million self-employed individuals in China require financial support, according to government data. Most of them are unable to get bank loans to grow their business amid weak domestic consumption.