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Enoch Yiu

John Strickland, former chairman of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, is to be appointed a director of the merged stock and futures exchanges.

 'Mr Strickland will represent the banking sector's point of view,' according to a source.

 The Government supported Mr Strickland's appointment to the board because of the links he had maintained with the banking sector since his retirement from the bank in December, the source said.

 It also viewed him as an able spokesman for the views of international investment banks, he said.

 'Mr Strickland came from a giant banking group,' a Government official said.

 'This background would allow him to collect opinions from international bankers.'  Moreover, Mr Strickland had good relationships with other bankers in the SAR, banking executives noted.

 These relationships could make it easier for the Government to lobby international banks for their support on market reform, they said.

 Mr Strickland was also expected to help develop the new exchange's trading system, the source said.

 The former banker will work with the three other board members. In October, the number will be expanded to seven and increase in coming years.

 The merger of the futures and stock exchanges is set to take place in September, but the proposal has run into severe problems since the Government announced its radical restructuring of the financial markets in the March Budget.

 It is believed the Government will appoint Charles Lee Yeh-kwong as chairman, Secretary for Financial Services Rafael Hui Si-yan as deputy chairman and Dannis Lee Jor-hung, chairman of Hong Kong Stockbrokers Association, as another director.

 '[The board] would ensure the new exchange will be able to take care of the interests of both local and international brokerages,' the source said.

 Charles Lee is an executive councillor and the chairman of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA).

 He was the stock exchange's chairman from 1992 to 1994.

 However, it was likely that Mr Hui would leave the Government to join the MPFA as its managing director, the source said.

 Such a move would allow Mr Lee more time to focus on the start-up of the new exchange, he said.

 The Government had yet to decide whether the directors would receive remuneration, he said.

 Stock exchange council members and futures exchange directors do not receive payment for their services.



Ex-HSBC man Strickland linked to exchange