Financial Firms Chinlink and MCM’s Joint Venture Sets Sights on Xi’an

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As many high-flying overseas investment bankers are chasing deals in China’s glittering coastal metropolises and economic powerhouses, two seasoned foreign bankers are looking inward and setting their sights on Xi’an, an ancient city best known for its Terracotta Warriors.

For Rachid Bouzouba and Adrian Valenzuela, co-founders of MCM Partners, a Hong Kong-based financial service boutique providing high-end investment and merchant banking services, Xi’an is a land full of opportunities thanks to the massive Belt and Road Initiative of which the city is its eastern starting point.

The two veteran bankers, each with more than 20 years of experience in the securities and capital markets think they can grasp the opportunities there by playing a bridging role as Xi’an embarks on the ambitious drive to turn itself into an inland logistics center and a technology hub.

“Xi’an is now one of the fastest-growing cities in China and it is definitely at the forefront of the emerging cities in the country, which presents huge potential,” said Rachid Bouzouba, former Head of Global Equities at Nomura and Head of Equities, EMEA of Lehman Brothers. “We want to grasp the opportunities and Xi’an is a great place to be.”

In order to tap the opportunities, MCM last year partnered with Chinlink International Holdings Ltd, a Xi’an-based and Hong Kong-listed financial services firm, to set up a joint venture, pooling together the strength of the two firms.