"Science and Technology Innovation Board**" on December 20 (researcher Tian Xiao).Under the downturn, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ushered in its first female CEO.
As the world's fourth largest market, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange recently announced a new round of personnel appointments. With the current CEO not seeking re-election at the end of his term in the Champions League, current Co-Chief Operating Officer, Tim Chan, will become HKEX's next Group Chief Executive with effect from 24 May 2024 for a three-year term until 23 May 2027. At that time, Chan will become the fifth head of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since its merger and listing in 2000, and the first female chief executive officer in the history of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Having worked in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for many years, Chen Yiting has experienced the "IPO era" and is about to take over huge responsibilities in the cold wind. Who is she and what kind of future can she bring to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange?
Born in Harvard, she was once a favorite of Laura Slime
At 54 years old, Chen Yiting is still in his prime for a CEO. Born in Hong Kong, she is a solicitor and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School. However, despite her extensive experience in the legal profession, her career also has deep roots in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
In 2007, Chan first joined the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the Head of the Initial Public Offering Department of the Listing Division of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. After three years of work, she returned to her legal profession and worked as a partner at Davis Polk & Polk. However, her job is mainly to provide regulatory advice for incoming IPOs and remains inextricably linked to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
From 2013 to July 2018, Laura Cha, the current Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Development Council, while Chan helped the FSDC write the IPO Reform Report in 2014 and became a member of the FSDC the following year. This experience made her considered one of the members of Laura Shi's think tank.
After Laura Cha became Chairman of HKEX, Chan rejoined HKEX in January 2020 as Head of Listing. During this period, she was also a member of the Taxation Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and an ex-officio member of the Standing Committee on Company Law Reform of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
In the past few years of her second tenure at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Chan has participated in many important moments, such as the addition of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listing regime, the addition of the Listing Rules (18C) for specialist technology companies, the increase in the profit test requirements for new shares, the relaxation of the secondary listing regime, and the shortening of the IPO settlement cycle from T+5 to T+2. As early as 2020, when the former CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Li Xiaojia, announced that he was about to leave office, Chen Yiting was considered the popular person of the CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
In February this year, Chan was promoted to Co-Chief Operating Officer of HKEX, replacing his predecessor Co-Chief Operating Officer, John Chong, and was responsible for all operational aspects of HKEX's business. She directly leads departments including the Office of the Chief China Economist, Corporate Communications, Group Strategy, Human Resources, Mainland Business Development and LME Clear.
After the "IPO era", what does she think of the Hong Kong ** field?
The period from 2007 to 2010, when Chan was in charge of IPOs at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was the golden age of IPOs in Hong Kong. However, the number of IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has declined seriously in the past two years, which also makes the public have great expectations for the new leader.
In fact, Chen Yiting's years in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have indeed brought some new trends. For example, in 2021, after Chapter 18C of the Listing Rules came into effect, Chen Yiting, as the head of listing, once bluntly said to **, "My biggest challenge now is to recruit more people." She said that when she went public three years ago, there were only two or three people who understood the biotech industry, and now the number of people who are responsible for approving Chapter 18A (biotechnology) companies has increased to 14. She also said that HKEX is actively recruiting talent, and the audit program is now very diverse, and more experts and people with scientific backgrounds are needed to conduct audits.
At the same time,Chan's appointment comes at a time when HKEX is encouraging gender diversity. In January 2022, HKEX introduced a new listing rule that requires companies with all-male boards to bring in at least one female board member by the end of 2024. According to the HKEX, board diversity can help companies make better decisions and improve governance. At this time, Chen Yiting's appointment may also bring more diverse perspectives and power to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
So, what does the incoming Chen Yiting think of the current Hong Kong ** market?In June this year, Chen Yiting said in an interview, "From 2022 to the present, global IPOs are in a relatively sluggish situation. In the first quarter of 2023, global IPOs have appeared in both the number and the total amount of financing, of which the number has fallen by 8% and the amount of financing has fallen by 61%. If compared with the overall situation of global IPOs, the number of IPOs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has actually increased, and the first five months of this year are 33% compared with the first five months of last year, and the amount of financing is mainly related to the valuation level. “
Chen Yiting is more optimistic about the current situation of IPO cooling, she said, "We believe that these problems are only short-term challenges. 'Connecting the Mainland and the world, connecting capital and opportunities, and connecting the present and the future' are the three major strategies of HKEX, and we believe that problems will always be overcome in the context of the world's willingness to strengthen cooperation and move in the same direction. ”
Interestingly, outside of work, Chan's personal interest is horse racing. According to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Chan Yee Ting is the club's owner and has a horse named "oversubscribed" under his name. The 8-year-old has won 5 championships, 4 runners-up and 7 third runners-up since the competition began in December 2021, with a total prize fund of HK$5.01 million.
The outstanding performance of Aima on the field must have brought a lot of happiness to Chen Yiting, and the victories of "oversubscription" may echo the huge expectations of horse owners for the IPO market. Now, under the leadership of Chen Yiting, can the Hong Kong market create another "oversubscribed" performance?