Charles Li Xiaojia, (; born 25 March 1961) is a Chinese banker. He was the Chief Executive of the

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX; ) operates a range of equity, commodity, fixed income and currency markets through its wholly owned subsidiaries The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK), Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limi ...

(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 ''China Daily'' ( zh, s=中国日报, p=Zhōngguó Rìbào) is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any ...

'' from 1984 to 1986 and obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism from the

Xiamen University Xiamen University (XMU; ) is a public university in Siming, Xiamen, Siming, Xiamen, Fujian, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Pro ...

in 1984 before he studied at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in which he was graduated with a master's degree in 1988. In 1991, he obtained a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

. After graduation, Li practiced law in New York with

Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, commonly known as Davis Polk, is an American multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., Menlo Park, California, Menlo Park, London, Madrid, Brussel ...

and Brown & Wood. 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 Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

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 ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' 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 The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market ma ...

and the

US Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equ ...

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 th ...

", to win business. In 2010, Li was named Chief Executive of the

(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. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the 9th largest globally by market capitalization as of August 20 ...

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 29 July 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the senior advisor for CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, after he retired from the Chairman of the Board in May ...

and

Adrian Cheng Adrian Cheng Chi-kong ( zh, t=鄭志剛, born 2 November 1979) is a Hong Kong entrepreneur and business executive son of property developer Henry Cheng and grandson of Cheng Yu-tung. He is the former CEO and executive vice-chairman of the fami ...

. 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 The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

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