Li Ka Shing Foundation
7/F, Cheung Kong Center, 2 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Overview
"To be able to contribute to society and to help those in need to build a better life, that is the ultimate meaning in life. I would gladly consider this to be my life's work. " After a childhood of hardship and strife, forced to quit school at the age of 15 to provide for his family, Mr. Li Ka-shing persevered. Throughout his struggles, Mr. Li realized how vital quality education and healthcare are to the success of a family and society as a whole. Thereby, the twin pillars of education and health care have long been the foundation of Mr. Li’s charitable work. As his business blossomed, Mr. Li began to make strategic contributions to education and medical care projects in Hong Kong and mainland China. In 1980, the Li Ka Shing Foundation was set up to enhance the impact of its philanthropy through two strategic objectives: to nurture a culture of giving and to foster creativity, constructive engagement, and sustainability through supporting capacity empowerment focused projects. The Li Ka Shing Foundation and other private charitable foundations established by Mr. Li support numerous charitable activities with grants, sponsorships, and commitments of HK$10.7 billion (US$1.37 billion). The Cheung Kong Group of companies also makes many contributions under the procurement efforts of Mr. Li.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 1
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Education
- Health Care
- Information Technology
Investment portfolio
- SecondMarket
Led · Series B · Feb 2010
SecondMarket operates an online marketplace that facilitates private stock transactions, enabling liquidity for pre-IPO and private-company shareholders. In the first three quarters of 2011 the platform handled $435 million in private stock transactions, a 73% increase year-over-year; venture capital firms comprised less than 1% of transactions (0.2% by dollar amount). The company has positioned itself as a leading alternative to public exits, helping companies retain and reward talent and providing startups opportunities to monetize. SecondMarket has raised outside equity in multiple rounds and, per reports, has increased its valuation after the latest financing. The business plans to use new funding to ramp hiring, expand beyond technology companies into new asset classes, and pursue potential acquisitions. It faces competitive pressure as Wall Street firms such as Cantor Fitzgerald and Liquidnet move into pre-IPO trading. SecondMarket runs a secondary market platform that facilitates trading in multiple illiquid asset classes, including private company stock, limited partnership interests, auction‑rate securities, bankruptcy claims, various mortgage‑backed securities, CDOs, warrants/restricted public stock and whole loans. The company is a registered broker‑dealer and a member of FINRA, MSRB and SIPC. It has offices in New York and Silicon Valley and more than 8,000 participants spanning global financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity firms, mutual funds, corporations and accredited investors. In 2009 SecondMarket conducted approximately $2bn in transactions. The newly raised funds will be used to scale the platform and infrastructure in preparation for expansion into Asian markets. Shareholders include FirstMark Capital, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and SVB Financial Group.
Team
No current team members are available.