Infinity Studying Failed Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange

A private equity firm backed by the China Development Bank Corp. is studying the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Ltd., a commodities market that suspended operations this year, for investment opportunities.

“I’m going in as a director to simply get an understanding,” said Jianrui Xiong, a Hong Kong-based venture partner at Infinity Group, which manages 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in assets. “I want to understand whether this company can solve its previous issues and whether it’ll be a clean company going forward. If it is clean, then we may have some investment opportunities.”

An investment by Infinity could help revive the exchange, which surrendered its trading license in May after failing to attract enough revenue to support operations. Barry Cheung, the largest shareholder and chairman, is seeking to raise funds to repay debts and unpaid wages.

Police investigated Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, also known as HKMEx, after the regulator said it found suspected financial irregularities. Cheung said the bourse is a victim, having been provided with financial documents it didn’t know were false.