Raymond Or Ching-fai has become the first Chinese appointment to the position of general manager at the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. The appointment, announced yesterday following the retirement of Christopher Langley, will take effect on February 1. In 1996, Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen was named executive director at the bank. Mr Cheng was the first Chinese to be promoted to that position. At present, he is Hang Seng Bank's chief executive. Mr Or is assistant general manager and head of corporate and institutional banking. He started his career at the bank in 1972 after receiving a bachelor's degree from the University of Hong Kong in Economics and Psychology. He worked in personnel, securities and retail banking before joining the corporate banking division in 1980 as a credit manager. Mr Or assumed his present position in 1995. In addition to stepping down as general manager on February 1, Mr Langley will also leave his position as an executive director, ending 38 years with the HSBC group. The bank did not announce a replacement to the position of executive director yesterday.
