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Bokhary ousted in exchange council race

Outspoken stockbroker Syed Bokhary unexpectedly lost his Stock Exchange Council seat last night after finishing third in his constituency.

Mr Bokhary finished behind rival Choi Chen Po-sum and ally Irene So Wai-yin in constituency C, representing the exchange's 400 small brokers.

Mrs Choi topped the poll with 296 votes, to 240 for Ms So and 200 for Mr Bokhary.

Mr Bokhary, a member of the exchange's ruling 31-member council since 1995, said he was not surprised at the result.

'I think the election is fair. The broker members have made their decision,' he said.

'I am happy that my ally Irene So has been elected as I always lobby for her. She will do a better job than I do.' For Mrs Choi, the result represented a personal triumph.

A council member since 1987, this was the first time she had faced re-election since she was acquitted in May last year of eight bribery charges relating to commissions paid in the sale of exchange floor seats.

Mr Bokhary had formed an alliance with Ms So and David Cho Wing-yiu, with the three asking brokers to choose two of them to fill the two vacancies in constituency C.

Ms So was elected at her fifth attempt in five years to join.

Brokers said the alliance was a mistake as it had split their votes.

However, Mr Bokhary blamed his failure on a low turnout among large brokerage houses, where he had strong support.

Many large brokerages failed to vote as there was no contest in constituency A, representing the top 14 brokers in the exchange.

Patrick Sun and David Roberts were elected unopposed in constituency A after the withdrawal of fellow candidate Fung Chi-kin. Mr Fung pulled out after being elected legislator to represent the financial services constituency.

Mr Bokhary said he would not stand for election again but would be willing to join the various working committees of the exchange to give opinions on specific subjects.

Mr Sun said he would concentrate on the compensation package for clients of collapsed brokerages.

He supported statutory backing for the listing rules to give the exchange more teeth to take disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, exchange chairman Lee Hon-chiu said he supported the adoption of a British-style single 'super-regulator' responsible for the securities, banking and insurance sectors.

'The securities market in Hong Kong is similar to the British market. I think Hong Kong could follow the British regulation model, but could make some adjustment according to the local market situations.'

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