Charles LI

Charles Li is the Founder and Chairman of Micro Connect Group and Chairman of Micro Connect (Macao) Financial Assets Exchange (MCEX).

He founded Micro Connect in 2021, a startup that provides financial services through a unique model that combines micro-financing with data analytics to support small businesses, particularly in China, and helps build a new financial ecosystem that connects global capital to the real economy of China.

Before founding Micro Connect in 2021, he served as Chief Executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited(HKEX) from 2010 to 2020. During this time, he orchestrated some of the most significant strategic initiatives in HKEX's history, including the acquisition of the London Metal Exchange in 2012 and the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect cross-border trading scheme in 2014, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect in 2016, Bond Connect in 2017, and the Listing Reforms in 2018.

Under his leadership, HKEX launched the most important listing reform in decades, for the first time welcoming listings from New Economy companies with weighted-voting rights (WVR) and pre-revenue biotech companies, as well as secondary listings of overseas-listed Mainland companies.

He was appointed Chairman of JP Morgan China from 2003 to 2009. He joined Merrill Lynch in 1994, where he served as President of Merrill Lynch China from 1999 to 2003. He practiced law at Brown & Wood and Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York. He was a member of The University of Hong Kong Council from 2020 to 2023 and played an active role in reviewing the University’s governance and management.

He holds a BA in English Literature from Xiamen University, an MA in Journalism from the University of Alabama, and a JD from Columbia Law School.