A historic scene was born.
Last night (December 15), the board of directors of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) officially announced the retirement of the Group's Chief Executive Officer, the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, and the adjustment of other senior management positions.
This means that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has ushered in the first female CEO in its history.
Aged 54, with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School, Chan has more than 30 years of experience in legal and financial services. In January 2020, Chan joined HKEX as Head of Listing, and now four years later, she is about to embark on an important stage in her career.
In April next year, Hong Kong Stock Exchange Chairman Laura Cha will also step down after completing his six-year term. In other words, in the second quarter of 2024, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will usher in the historic picture of two key figures in the first time in more than 20 years of listing, the chairman and the chief executive officer, and the replacement at the same time.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has announced a blockbuster appointment
The new executive team was unveiled
Now it's time to stop and think about the next step. "Coming out," said the Champions League promotion.
Originally from Argentina and holds a Bachelor of Science (Economics) degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Aguzin was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of HKEX in May 2021 after nine years in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he spent nearly 30 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he held roles such as Chief Executive Officer for Latin America, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, and Chief Executive Officer for International Markets of Private Banking.
During his tenure at HKEX, Aguzin led the implementation of a number of major strategic initiatives and international promotion efforts for HKEX, opening new offices in New York and London, and leading the development and refinement of a range of products and platforms, including driving growth in HKEX's derivatives and ETF markets.
It has been the privilege of my life to lead the HKEX. With this announcement that he will not seek re-election after the end of his term in May next year, Champions League said. He posted on social ** that he has been working non-stop for the past 34 years, and although he has recently become an "empty nester", he still feels healthy, young, and energetic, so he hopes to take the time to reflect, start over, and make plans for the future. "By announcing the outgoing CEO as early as possible, the Exchange can ensure sufficient time for a smooth leadership transition. We will work closely with the team in the coming months to achieve these goals. ”
Over the past two and a half years, the pandemic and the global market downturn have created a particularly difficult macro environment. On behalf of the Board, HKEX Chairman Laura Cha thanked Nicolas Aguzin for leading HKEX during challenging times. Laura Cha said he fully respects the Champions League's decision to seek new development and wishes him all the best for the future. She believes that Aguzin has played an important role in promoting the international promotion of Hong Kong's financial markets, resuming dialogue and connectivity in the post-pandemic era, and ensuring the normal operation of HKEX.
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, also said that Aguzin's tenure has promoted the development of Hong Kong's ** market, making Hong Kong continue to be an important international IPO fundraising platform in the world, and play an important role in strengthening the international connection of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
At the same time, the new senior management team of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was officially unveiled.
He is currently the Co-Chief Operating Officer, Mr Anthony Chan, as HKEX's next Group Chief Executive Officer, effective 24 May 2024, for a term of three years until 23 May 2027. Chen Yiting will also become an ex-officio member of the Board.
Appointment of Yiu Karen as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HKEXAt the same time, Yiu will continue to serve as the Co-Chief Operating Officer of HKEX. In addition to this appointment, he will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong*** and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange***, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Aged 54, Yiu Ka Yan has over 25 years of experience in international capital markets. He joined HKEX in April 2019.
Appointed Bean Lau as Co-Chief Operating Officer of HKEXAt the same time, she will continue to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of HKEX. Aged 51, she has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. She joined HKEX in October 2015 and is currently the Group Chief Financial Officer of HKEX.
In this way, the new senior management team has many years of experience in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With the announcement of the new personnel appointments, Chen Yiting will officially take over the Champions League next year, becoming the fifth head of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since its merger and listing in 2000, and the first female chief executive in the history of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The first female CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Aged 54, graduated from the University of Hong Kong, he is a lawyer
Who is Chen Yiting?
Aged 54, Mr. Chan holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Hong Kong and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in the United States. And her career almost revolves around the exchange, and she has a deep connection with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
According to the announcement, Chen Yiting was the head of the initial public offering transaction department of the Listing Division of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007, and after three years there, he left in 2010 to work for Davis Polk Polk as a partner of the firm, covering clients in a wide range of industries in Hong Kong and Asia.
Later, Chan also served as a member of the Inland Revenue Commission of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and a member of the board of directors of the Financial Services Development Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and is considered to be one of the think tanks of the then chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Laura Cha, during his tenure as chairman of the Financial Services Development Council.
In January 2020, Chan returned to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as Head of Listing. During this period, she was also an ex-officio member of the Hong Kong Standing Committee on Company Law Reform.
After 4 years, this outstanding woman will take over the management of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In fact, as early as 2020, when the former CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Charles Li, announced that he was about to leave office, Chen Yiting was considered a popular person for the CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Although she was not selected later, we can see her at important moments in the development of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listing regime, the new Listing Rules (18C) for specialist technology companies, and so on.
In February this year, Chan was promoted to Co-Chief Operating Officer of HKEX, responsible for all operational aspects of HKEX's business. In a number of senior roles, she has led departments including the Office of the Chief China Economist, Corporate Communications, Group Strategy, Human Resources, Mainland Business Development and LME Clear.
Regarding Chen Yiting's imminent takeover of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange Chairman Laura Cha said that Chen Yiting is a well-known capital market executive, who was previously a good lawyer and led the listing division of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. "She has a deep understanding of HKEX's business and the competitive landscape in the industry, and has played a key role in driving the execution of HKEX's strategy over the past few years. ”
It is an honour to be the next Group Chief Executive of HKEX, having worked for HKEX twice and having been closely associated with the Exchange throughout my career. As the world's focus shifts to the East, technological advancements change the way we live and work, climate change and a fragile economic environment become major challenges that need to be tackled together, HKEX still has tremendous opportunities, said Chan Yiting, the future CEO of HKEX.
The year of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Standing at the end of 2023, we look back at the scenes of the year of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
What impressed the venture capital community is that from March 31 this year, the new listing regime for Specialist Technology Companies (i.e. "18C") launched by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has officially come into effect.
This has added a shot of strength to the Hong Kong ** market. Companies that meet the requirements of the five specialized technology industries, even if they have no profit or income, can still achieve Hong Kong stock IPOs after reaching the listing threshold, which is known as the "Hong Kong Stock Science and Technology Innovation Board" in the industry. For VC PE, there is undoubtedly an additional exit window and path.
Speaking at the time, Chan said that HKEX has always been committed to building a leading market for the future, continuously promoting institutional reform and product innovation, and continuously enhancing market attractiveness and competitiveness. The latest introduction of the new listing rules for Specialist Technology Companies is another milestone in Hong Kong's listing reform, supporting the financing needs and innovative ideas of more technology companies, and representing the attitude of the Hong Kong market to embrace future development trends.
This year, HKEX has once again enhanced its connectivity mechanisms to further connect China with the rest of the world. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect were expanded again in March this year to include Hong Kong-listed foreign companies in the Stock Connect. This is a far-reaching enhancement that allows Hong Kong-listed international issuers to access both Chinese mainland investors and a diverse pool of overseas investors. No other market in the world is able to do this.
2023 is also the 30th anniversary of the H-share listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The H-share listing marks the beginning of 30 years of mutual access and is a very important milestone in the development of Hong Kong's financial market, marking the starting point of HKEX's process of reshaping the global capital market and laying a solid foundation for Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre.
Recall that in July 1993, Tsingtao Brewery, the first H-share company, was listed in Hong Kong, opening the historical curtain of H-share listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Since then, more than 300 H-share companies have been listed, raising a total of nearly HK$3 trillion. According to official data disclosed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as of the end of July 2023, more than 1,400 Chinese mainland companies (including H-share companies, red-chip companies and mainland private enterprises) have been listed in Hong Kong, accounting for 77% of the total market capitalization of the Hong Kong market.
This year, we also saw the close connection between the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Mainland, and signed memorandums of cooperation with the cities of Nanjing, Ningbo, Guangxi, Qingdao, Heilongjiang and other places, hoping to strengthen communication and cooperation and jointly support mainland enterprises to list in Hong Kong. In addition, in June this year, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Beijing Stock Exchange to establish a long-term cooperation mechanism to support eligible enterprises to list in the two places, and at the same time will strengthen exchanges and promote in-depth cooperation between the capital markets of Beijing and Hong Kong. Chen Yiting also appeared at the signing ceremony of a number of memorandums of cooperation.
But the problem is also at hand. Hit by intensive interest rate hikes in the United States, the process of global economic recovery, lower market valuations and reduced market liquidity, the new market of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has continued to be sluggish this year.
Deloitte's recently released "Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong New Market 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook" report disclosed a set of data that predicts that there will be 65 new stocks in the Hong Kong market this year, a year-on-year decrease of 23%, raising about HK$45.8 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 54%.
Deloitte China Southern Region Managing Partner Au Zhenxing said that the current valuation and liquidity of Hong Kong stocks are low, which has caused companies interested in promoting listing in Hong Kong to suspend or postpone projects. But he is optimistic about the upcoming 2024, with the report predicting that 80 new listings will be born next year, raising HK$100 billion.
2023 is coming to an end, and the hardest time has also been experienced. With the new leadership team in place, we look forward to a new chapter for HKEX next year."