The Micro Connect Financial Assets Exchange (MCEX) officially launched operations yesterday, the Macau Post Daily reports. MCEX is the world’s first licensed Daily Revenue Obligations (DROs) market – a novel product that opens up new financing options for small and micro businesses in mainland China.
At MCEX’s inauguration ceremony yesterday, Micro Connect founder and chairman Charles Li Xiaojia acknowledged that Macao was a latecomer in the finance space. He also argued that there was “no value” in replicating what others were already doing, given the SAR’s ambitions to be a financial mover and shaker.
In that sense, launching an entirely new form of financing – such as MCEX – re-positioned Macao as an industry pioneer, Li said.
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“If we are able to try something nobody else has done, especially something that just recently became possible … then we are not a late mover any more.”
MCEX, which started trial operations in March, connects small and micro businesses in mainland China with global investors and leading industry partners, via a fintech platform. The exchange aligns with Macao’s bid to develop its finance industry as part of its ‘1+4’ economic diversification strategy.
According to Micro Connect’s website, MCEX is designed for small business owners having trouble accessing investment through traditional financing tools – offering an alternative way for them to grow their businesses.
Li is the former CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). He co-founded Hong Kong-headquartered Micro Connect with fellow veteran investor Gary Zhang Gaobo (the company’s CEO) in 2021.
Macao’s Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng attended MCEX’s inauguration ceremony, held at the Galaxy International Convention Centre in Cotai yesterday.
