Charles Li Xiaojia, (; born 25 March 1961) is a Chinese banker. He was the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) from 2010 to 2021.

Biography

Li was born in 1961 and was an offshore oil worker in the north China sea prior to college. He became a newspaper editor-reporter for the '' China Daily'' from 1984 to 1986 and obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism from the Xiamen University in 1984 before he studied at the University of Alabama in which he was graduated with a master's degree in 1988. In 1991, he obtained a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from Columbia Law School. After graduation, Li practiced law in New York with Davis Polk & Wardwell and

Brown & Wood Brown & Wood was a New York-based law firm established in 1914 that merged with Chicago-based Sidley & Austin in 2001 to form Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, later shortened to Sidley Austin. History The firm was known for its expertise in capital ...

. He also began to work in the financial services sector, including in corporate and securities law practices, corporate finance and advisory services in New York, Mainland China and New York, and joined

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

in 1994 and became president of Merrill Lynch China in 1999. He joined the JP Morgan Chase China and became its chairman in 2003. In 2015, the '' Wall Street Journal'' reported that Charles Li, while he was chairman of JP Morgan China from 2003 to 2009, recommended hiring the children and associates of Chinese officials, clients and potential future clients. At the time, JP Morgan was investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice into possible violation of anti-bribery laws by improperly hiring relatives of Chinese officials, known as "

princelings The Princelings (), also translated as the Party's Crown Princes, are the descendants of prominent and influential senior communist officials in the People's Republic of China. It is an informal, and often derogatory, categorization to signify tho ...

", to win business. In 2010, Li was named Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). During his tenure, a mechanism called Stock Connect was created in 2014 for Mainland Chinese investors to trade shares listed in the

Hong Kong stock market The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repo ...

and international investors to trade shares listed in the stock markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen. In 2020, Li announced his retirement at the end of 2020. He officially stepped down on 1 January 2021. Li is the co-founder of Micro Connect, a platform to link international capital to small businesses in China that has raised more than $70 million from investors such as

Li Ka-shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 13 June 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. As of June 2019, Li is the 31st richest person in the world, with an estimated net wealth of US$33.4 billion. He is the senior ad ...

and Adrian Cheng. Li served as a trustee of Columbia University in the City of New York and is current a trustee of Columbia Global Centers, East Asia. He was also appointed a member of the governing council of the University of Hong Kong in 2020, serving a term for three years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li Xiaojia, Charles 1961 births Living people Chinese journalists Chinese bankers Chinese chief executives Businesspeople from Beijing JPMorgan Chase people Merrill (company) people Hong Kong bankers Hong Kong chief executives Xiamen University alumni University of Alabama alumni Columbia Law School alumni Members of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Recipients of the Silver Bauhinia Star Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers