The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388.HK) released its financial results for the first quarter of 2024 at the same time, and also publicly disclosed the change of the company's chairman to the market.
On April 24, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced that Tang Jiacheng was appointed to replace Laura Shi as chairman of the board. This personnel change marks the end of Laura Cha's nearly six-year tenure as chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The "Iron Lady" of the capital market retired
Looking back on his more than 30 years of work in the financial market, Laura Cha can be said to be a rare talent in the financial market.
Born in Shanghai in 1949, Laura Shi was a top student and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin, a Juris Doctor degree from Santa Dajana University in California, an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance.
In the 90s, Laura Cha was active in the Hong Kong capital market, successively serving as the Assistant Director of the Corporate Finance Department of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and the Executive Director and Deputy Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
In 2001, at the "handpick" of then Premier Zhu Rongji, Laura Sze was invited to serve as vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, making her the first vice-ministerial-level official hired by the central government from Hong Kong since the reform and opening up. During her tenure as vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Laura Shi showed an image of "ruling the market with an iron fist".
According to Xinhua News Agency, in her first year in office, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) promulgated 51 laws or regulations related to securities regulation, initially establishing a domestic regulatory framework.
After graduating from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Laura Cha also served as the Chairman of the Financial Services Development Council, a member of the International Advisory Committee of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, and an independent non-executive director of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
In April 2018, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced the appointment of Laura Cha as the chairman of the board of directors, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange entered the "era of Laura Cha".
Photo: Laura Cha Source: Hong Kong Stock Exchange
During her six-year tenure as Chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Laura Cha led the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through many external adverse factors such as geopolitical turmoil and interest rate changes. During his tenure as Chairman of HKEX, Laura Cha made significant contributions to the development of HKEX by promoting Stock Connect, enhancing the listing mechanism, diversifying the investor structure and diversifying the business.
In particular, during Laura Cha's tenure, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange vigorously promoted its internationalization strategy, including the implementation of Stock Connect and the major reform of Hong Kong's listing regime, which successfully attracted a number of Chinese concept stocks to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
"During her tenure as Chairman of HKEX, Ms Laura Cha has actively enhanced the fundraising function of the HKEX with the support of the HKSAR Government, including the introduction of a new mechanism for the listing of innovative and specialist technology companies and special purpose acquisition companies, facilitating the listing of overseas companies and Chinese concept stocks in Hong Kong, deepening and expanding mutual access with the Mainland financial markets, A lot of work has been done for the development of Hong Kong's securities market and the international financial center, and remarkable results have been achieved in improving the trading mechanism of Hong Kong dollar-RMB dual currency securities products. ”
For the future development of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Laura Cha is very optimistic. During her tenure, the Group has invested a lot in internationalization, including signing letters of intent with two overseas exchanges to expand its listing targets in Hong Kong, but the pace of international development of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will not stop, and it will not be as simple as opening two overseas offices. In the future, HKEX will continue to promote the diversification of capital, investors and listing resources. Despite the current challenges, capital is expected to return as China's economy improves and the market environment improves. At the same time, the door to the Middle East market has been opened.
Former Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Chairman Carlson Tong took over
More than a month ago, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ushered in its first female CEO, Chen Yiting, to replace the early departure of the Champions League. With Tong Kar-shing taking over Laura Cha as chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it means that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has ushered in the simultaneous replacement of the chairman and the chief executive within two months.
Mr Tong's resume is not simple, and he has extensive experience in the Hong Kong capital market in the past.
Aged 69, Mr Tong has been actively involved in capital markets throughout his career and has extensive experience in corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
From 2007 to 2011, he was Chairman of KPMG China and Hong Kong, Chairman of KPMG Asia Pacific and a member of the KPMG Global Board of Directors in 2009, and a member of the Listing Committees of the Main Board and Growth Enterprise Market of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange from 2002 to 2006 and Chairman from 2006 to 2008.
Mr Tong also held key positions at the SFC, where he was appointed Chairman of the SFC from 2012 to 2018, where he oversaw a number of key policy initiatives, including the introduction of Stock Connect and the Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) arrangement between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
Since 2021, the overall trading of the Hong Kong stock market has been sluggish, the liquidity performance of the broader market has been poor, the Hang Seng Index has fallen for 4 consecutive years, and the number of IPOs and financing scale of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have also declined significantly, resulting in a two-year decline in the performance of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which has also brought challenges to the "Chen Yiting + Tang Jiacheng" portfolio.
The public position currently held by Tang Jiacheng is closely related to the liquidity policy of the Hong Kong stock market. In August last year, the HKSAR Government announced the establishment of a Task Force on Enhancing Stock Market Liquidity to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the factors affecting stock market liquidity and submit recommendations for improvement to the Chief Executive. The Task Force, chaired by Mr Tong, comprises eight other members from the financial sector, relevant HKSAR government officials, and representatives from financial regulators and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.
At the same time, Mr Tong was appointed as a member of the Listing Policy Committee this year. It is learnt that the Listing Policy Sub-Group is a platform for advice, consultation and supervision, in which the SFC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange can discuss listing policies that are regulatory or have broad market implications.
It is worth mentioning that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange also disclosed the remuneration of Tong Ka Shing, who will receive a total of HK$4.55 million for non-executive directors in 2024/2025 for his role as chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and other positions, of which HK$3.5 million for the position of chairman of the board of directors.
Tang Jiacheng recently said that Hong Kong's financial market has long been no longer relying on stock trading alone, and it is advisable to turn derivatives and ETFs against the market to reach new high opportunities and seek diversified development strategies.
He pointed out that enhancing market liquidity is a long-term task, and he also knew that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission attach great importance to the relevant work, and are studying many medium- and long-term reform proposals, and believe that measures will be introduced in the future to improve the market mechanism and promote market development.
Author: Far away