Former Hong Kong Bourse Chief LI Plans New Microfinance Platform in 2021

Former Hong Kong stock exchange CEO Charles Li plans to launch a platform this autumn for global institutional investors to fund China’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Li told Reuters in an interview that in “traditional finance” investing in SMEs was rarely worthwhile for global institutions as the due diligence was difficult, risks were high and funding amounts small. To bridge this gap, Li is proposing that large Chinese companies, for example restaurant chains, franchises or food and delivery platforms provide funding to their suppliers or partners in return for a cut of their counterparty or smaller company’s future revenue for an agreed period of time.