The two-year-old company co-founded by Charles Li, the former boss of the Hong Kong stock exchange, was valued at $1.7 billion after its latest funding round, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Micro Connect (H.K.) Investments Ltd. reached the milestone after raising $458 million in a Series C offering announced on Wednesday, the person said, asking not be identified disclosing internal information.
The firm said earlier in a statement it raised money from new and existing investors in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Greater China. Investors included leading long-only investment managers, private equity and venture funds, university endowments, internet platforms, and consumer retail groups, it said.
Former HKEX CEO Starts Venture to Invest in China’s Small Firms
Li launched Micro Connect in 2021. At first it was a platform to seek to link foreign capital to small businesses across China. It offers institutional investors a way of making equity-like bets on a portfolio of small enterprises and gain a direct share of the revenue.
Then earlier this year he started an exchange in Macau that would trade daily revenue obligations. The exchange is slated to launch this month.
The firm said on Wednesday that the new capital will support the enhancement of the Financial Assets Exchange market structure and develop “the world’s largest financial market for micro and small business investing.”
The funding round was arranged by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Li co-founded Micro Connect with Oriental Patron Financial Group’s founding partner Gary Zhang after leading the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. for 10 years. It raised $70 million from local tycoons last year amid the pandemic.
Charles Li’s Venture Raised $70 Million From H.K. Tycoons (1)
