HKEX’s 2023 profit jumps 18%, as Aguzin passes the baton of running Hong Kong’s stock exchange to Bonnie Chan on a high note
- HKEX reports an 18 per cent increase in annual earnings to HK$11.9 billion (US$1.52 billion), matching market consensus
- Outgoing CEO Nicolas Aguzin says he has no regrets and believes his successor Bonnie Chan has got what it takes to be a successful leader
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), which operates Asia’s third-largest stock exchange, said earnings jumped last year by the most since 2020 on the back of a surge in investment income and derivatives trading as CEO Nicolas Aguzin ends his tenure after a tumultuous three years.
“I don’t regret anything because I feel that I have tried to do my best in everything that I tried to do,” Aguzin said at his last media briefing on Thursday. “I feel very grateful for the opportunity, the learnings and experiences. I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”
During Aguzin’s three-year tenure, he had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the US-China trade war and rising interest rate cycle, which proved to be a drag on market turnover. Still, on his last day, the HKEX reported it second-best ever annual profit.
Net profit increased 18 per cent to HK$11.9 billion (US$1.52 billion), or HK$9.37 per share, according to its stock exchange filing on Thursday, the biggest increase since a 22 per cent jump in 2020. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had forecast the firm to generate HK$11.9 billion for 2023. It was also the highest earnings since it earned HK$12.5 billion in 2021.
It proposed to pay HK$3.91 per share in second interim dividend, bringing the total to HK$8.41 for the year, versus HK$7.14 in 2022, and maintaining the payout at 90 per cent of earnings.