The longest-serving chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), Charles Li, is planning to step down from his position after heading the financial marketplace for more than a decade. In a surprising announcement on Thursday, Li confirmed that he will no longer be renewing his contract, which will officially end on October 2021.
The HKEX head, who is also known as Li Xiaojia, will continue to lead Asia's third-largest equities market until his current term expires. According to a statement released by the exchange, a selection committee headed by chairwoman Laura Cha Shih May-lung has been formed and will be actively looking for Li's replacement. The statement added that Li has the option of leaving his position earlier than October 2021 if a suitable replacement is found.
In an online conference call, Li stated that the past decade has been very eventful, and for the most part, the highlight of his career. He added that through his team, the exchange has managed to achieve its initially set goals. However, Li believes that it is now the right time to "call it a day." Following Li's announcement, share prices of the exchange dropped by as much as 4.1 percent on Thursday.
The 59-year old former oilfield worker and banker has managed to steer the exchange to becoming one of the most sought after destinations for share sales in Asia. Li took the helm as the head of the exchange in 2010. He has since doubled the exchange's market capitalization to more than HK$35 trillion as of last week. During his term, the exchange was able to take the top position as the world's leading hub for initial public offerings for seven out of the past 11 years.
Prior to taking the helm at the HKEX, one of the highest-paid financial positions in Hong Kong, Li was the chairman of JPMorgan Chase's Chinese unit. At his tenure with the HKEX, he was known to have been the architect behind the exchange's Connect Program. In line with China's opening-up policies, the program included a series of cross-border investment channels that allowed foreign institutions to tap into the country's yuan-denominated equities and bonds and vice versa. Currently, the Connect Program accounts for about 10 percent of the exchange's annual revenues.
Li has also been instrumental in the exchange's dramatic policy reforms, including the acceptance of companies wanting to launch dual-class shareholdings. The policy change had paved the way for Alibaba's record $12.9 billion IPO. A number of other Chinese companies, including JD.com, have recently expressed interest in also listing their shares in Hong Kong.
