On January 18, 2025, MINAX, the world’s first brand RWA (Real World Assets) exchange, was grandly unveiled in Dubai. The launch ceremony attracted extensive attention from business leaders, economists, and the media around the world. As the person in charge of this exchange, the appearance of Dr. Gong Fangxiong, the former Managing Director of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific and a renowned economist, was particularly eye-catching.
Former Managing Director of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific, Chief Strategist of Bank of America
Dr. Gong Fangxiong, Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Dr. Gong Fangxiong is an internationally renowned expert in finance and capital operation. He holds a Ph.D. in Financial Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Master’s degree in Physics from Temple University in Philadelphia, and two degrees from Peking University (a Master’s degree in Operations Research and Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics).
Between 1995 and 1997, Dr. Gong served as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, responsible for submitting research reports and policy recommendations to the Federal Open Market Committee of the United States. Subsequently, he joined Bank of America, serving as the Chief Strategist and Co-Head of the Global Currency and Interest Rate Markets Strategy Department.
Before 2009, Dr. Gong served as the Head of China Research, Chief Market Strategist, and Chief Economist for Greater China at J.P. Morgan. He was responsible for leading J.P. Morgan’s China research and market strategy teams, coordinating securities analysis, market strategy, macroeconomic, and foreign exchange/interest rate research, and market strategy work. At the same time, he was also the Co-Head of J.P. Morgan’s Asia Emerging Markets Investment Strategy.
In his subsequent career, he successively served as the Managing Director of J.P. Morgan Asia Pacific and the Chairman of J.P. Morgan China’s Investment Banking.
Under his leadership, Dr. Gong’s team achieved outstanding results, ranking first in the annual rankings of the global “Institutional Investor” and “Asiamoney” for many consecutive years. The team he led also consistently ranked first in the “Institutional Investor” rankings of Chinese teams.
In the first year after Dr. Gong joined J.P. Morgan, he led the team to jump from outside the top five in the rankings to the first place and has maintained that ranking ever since. Due to his outstanding contributions in the financial field, he also won the first place in the “World Chinese Financial Influence Award” in 2010.
Dr. Gong Fangxiong has been paying attention to and researching the field of brand asset securitization for more than a decade. He has keenly observed that with the acceleration of the global digitalization process and the rise of Web3 technology, the traditional intangible asset of a brand is gradually evolving into a tradable digital asset. For a long time, Dr. Gong has continuously explored how to empower brands through innovative financial tools and has accumulated profound experience in both theory and practice. He pointed out that “Brand assets are a value reserve with great growth potential. Traditional enterprises need more efficient ways to achieve their global layout, and brand securitization is precisely the key way to achieve this goal.”
Dr. Gong not only delved deep into this field at the theoretical level but also spoke at many international conferences, calling on enterprises to pay attention to the trends of brand digitalization and capitalization. He believes that Chinese enterprises and brands are playing an increasingly important role in the global market, but there is still a lot of room for development in terms of brand globalization and capitalization. Through capitalization and digitalization tools, Chinese brands can be better empowered, enabling them to have a greater say on the international stage.
Choosing to take the lead of MINAX, Dr. Gong Fangxiong frankly stated that this is a crucial step for him to move from theoretical research to practice. He said that the core concept of MINAX is highly consistent with his research direction over the years: digitizing intangible assets such as brand trademarks and domain names through blockchain technology and linking them to the brand’s revenue, thus forming a decentralized trading system with inherent value support.
“Dubai is a meeting point of innovation and capital, providing a unique development environment for MINAX,” Dr. Gong said at the launch ceremony. “I believe that MINAX is not just an exchange; it is an accelerator for the globalization of brand value. Through this platform, we can bring unprecedented opportunities to global brands and at the same time help Chinese enterprises create greater value in the global market.”
The uniqueness of the MINAX exchange lies in its first deep integration of brand assets and blockchain technology, providing a new way for brand assets to achieve liquidity and value realization. Through this platform, enterprises can tokenize their brands and achieve value appreciation through market trading mechanisms. At the same time, smart contract technology is used to ensure the repurchase and destruction of brand licensing fees.
At the launch ceremony, MINAX announced that it has reached strategic cooperation agreements with a number of internationally renowned brands and Chinese local brands. It is expected that more than 100 brand equity assets will be launched within the next year, covering multiple fields such as consumer goods, luxury goods, and technology.
For Dr. Gong Fangxiong, the digitalization of brand assets practiced by MINAX echoes the theoretical research results he has accumulated over the years and is also a brand-new starting point. This platform carries his in-depth thinking on the globalization, digitalization, and capitalization of brand assets and is also the culmination of his years of experience in the global capital market. He hopes that through this platform, global brands can achieve true value circulation and growth in the digital age.
Dr. Gong Fangxiong’s new move not only demonstrates his endless enthusiasm for financial innovation but also marks a new chapter in the digitalization of global brand assets. The launch of MINAX undoubtedly injects new vitality into the global brand market and also provides a bridge for Chinese enterprises to step onto the international stage.
【Risk Warning】This article’s content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. Brand asset trading and investment involve high risks and volatility. Users are advised to fully understand the associated risks and make cautious decisions before investing. MINAX is not responsible for any investment losses resulting from reliance on this content. Please invest rationally based on your risk tolerance.
