As it turns 22, CEO says HKEX must learn from tech firms to deliver new products and services at low cost

We do not just compete with other exchanges, we compete with fintech companies, digital asset platforms and other start-ups, Nicolas Aguzin says

Confident that more firms will come to list in Hong Kong in the next 22 years and beyond, chairwoman Laura Cha says at ceremony to mark anniversary

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Nicolas Aguzin during the ceremony celebrating HKEX’s 22nd anniversary as a listed company on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:05pm, 21 Jun 2022

Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) must learn from technology-driven companies to deliver new products and services at low costs, CEO Nicolas Aguzin said on the eve of its 22nd anniversary as a listed company.

“To truly innovate and be a company of tomorrow, we need to act like a company of tomorrow,” he said in a blog post on Tuesday. “We do not just compete with other exchanges. We now compete with fintech companies, digital asset platforms and other start-ups.”

The company, which runs Asia’s third-largest stock market, will mark 22 years as a listed firm on June 27. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong’s outgoing leader, was the guest of honour at a ceremony hosted by Aguzin and Laura Cha Shih May-lung, HKEX’s chairwoman, on Tuesday to mark the occasion.

Lam and Cha sounded the ceremonial gong in the newly renovated Connect Hall, which functioned as the exchange’s trading hall before 2017. Media participation was limited to watching the ceremony online only, because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Hong Kong’s outgoing leader, right, was the guest of honour at a ceremony hosted by Aguzin and Laura Cha Shih May-lung, HKEX’s chairwoman, left, on Tuesday. Photo: Handout

Aguzin, who took over as HKEX’s first non-Chinese CEO last year, plans to diversify the Hong Kong stock exchange’s business, as investors demand new asset classes such as digital assets and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments. In a blueprint announced in March, he said the exchange will introduce a new platform called Diamond this year to initially trade ESG products.

In an interview with the Post last week, Aguzin said HKEX will open offices in New York and Europe to reach international investors who now represent 43 per cent of the Hong Kong exchange’s turnover. The new offices will also aim to attract more international listings to the city.