British lawyer and former Securities and Futures Commission executive director Ashley Alder is likely to be named the next chief executive of the securities watchdog, according to at least one media report.
Alder, the Asia head of the international law firm Herbert Smith in Hong Kong, would replace Martin Wheatley, who left the city last month to take up another regulatory job in London in September.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that Alder's appointment would be announced on Monday.
The SFC would not comment on the matter and Alder did not return a phone call or an e-mail.
'We do not comment on speculative reports,' a spokesman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said. 'We will announce the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer at the appropriate time.'
On the Herbert Smith website, Alder is listed as its head of Asia and based in Hong Kong.
He joined Herbert Smith in London after he received his Masters of Law with first-class honours from Cambridge University in 1983 and was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1989.