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Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, former heir apparent to Hong Kong property giant New World Development (NWD) and founder of investment firm ALMAD Group, has become a shareholder in CBCX Group, a London-headquartered multi-asset broker. Founded in 2011, CBCX offers a trading platform for currencies, precious metals, stocks, indices and commodities. It is also expanding into the digital-asset ecosystem. “This strategic investment will inject significant momentum and resources into CBCX’s growth across the Asia-Pacific region and global markets,” CBCX said in a statement on Monday without specifying the amount invested. The partnership would focus on enhancing financial trading and investment solutions for the gold and foreign exchange sectors, while deepening collaboration across commodities, stocks and brokerage services, the company added. The collaboration marked a “milestone” in bridging traditional finance with emerging digital assets, according to the announcement. Cheng would focus on traditional and virtual gold trading platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. The entrepreneur’s investment aligns with his growing interest in virtual assets. His new enterprise ALMAD targeted markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and China, with a mission to break “boundaries in digital and virtual assets”, the company said last month. ALMAD operates a digital-asset arm, A2Z. Focusing on “transformative industries”, which also include culture and healthcare, Cheng’s new venture was launched in September, less than three months after the third-generation scion of NWD resigned as non-executive director of the company. He stepped down as CEO of NWD a year ago after the company reported a record full-year loss of about US$2.5 billion amid a property slump in Hong Kong and mainland China. Cheng said earlier this year he would “devote more time to public services and other personal commitments”, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. As an early-stage investor in start-ups, Cheng’s notable bets included the Chinese social media platform RedNote, electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng, and Micro Connect International Finance, an investment firm established in 2021. CBCX was preparing to launch a Digital Asset Index, which would offer crypto investment and hedging products for financial institutions, family offices and individual investors, according to the company. “The partners will also jointly explore the issuance of digital gold and tokenised financial products, fostering deeper integration between traditional finance and the digital asset economy,” it said. Additionally, CBCX would soon unveil its Digital Wealth Management Platform, designed for high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. “CBCX aims to help clients achieve sustainable growth, wealth preservation and appreciation in the expanding digital economy,” it said. Moving forward, with London and Hong Kong as its dual hubs, CBCX would continue to integrate liquidity across asset classes and expand in areas such as cross-asset liquidity, index-based investments, digital wealth management and tokenised financial products, the company said. It planned to build a comprehensive digital financial ecosystem for both institutional and individual investors, CBCX added.
