Hong Kong promotes Eddie Yue to lead monetary authority, taking no chances on its choice amid turbulent economic times

Eddie Yue Wai-man, 54, will assume the post of chief executive at Monetary Authority from October 1

Yue, architect of alternative investment strategy for Exchange Fund, contributed to the 10-year era of 12.9 per cent average annualised returns

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Eddie Yue Wai-man (left), succeeds Norman Chan Tak-lam (right) as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) at HKMA office in Central on 25 July 2019. Photo: SCMP/Nora Tam

Published: 8:44pm, 25 Jul 2019Updated: 11:35pm, 25 Jul 2019

Eddie Yue Wai-man, who joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) from its establishment in 1993, has been promoted to head the de facto central bank, as the government looks to the veteran insider to help the city chart a steady course through unprecedented turbulence.

Yue, 54, will take over on October 1 from Norman Chan Tak-lam as the HKMA’s third chief executive in 26 years, overseeing one of the world’s largest currency reserves. Chan, who turns 65 in October, is due to retire after a decade on the job.

“Eddie is conversant with the financial markets worldwide. He has name recognition and credibility in financial arenas, and the vision for the future of Hong Kong as an international financial centre,” said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po during an announcement of Yue’s appointment, confirming an earlier report by South China Morning Post . Chan heads the search committee that picked Yue.

“His achievements in promoting the HKMA’s reserve management and financial market development in recent years are well recognised,” Chan said. “He is the person best suited for this position.”

Yue’s promotion caps almost three decades of service in financial and monetary policymaking, where – as the most senior of three deputy chief executives – he managed Hong Kong’s HK$4.137 trillion (US$529 billion) Exchange Fund, a war chest for maintaining the local currency’s peg against the US dollar. Under his watch, the fund’s annualised internal rate of return reached 12.9 per cent since 2009, with gains in the bond portfolio boosting first-half earnings to a record HK$170.8 billion.

Yue’s resume will also be instrumental in honing Hong Kong’s role in several of China’s large-scale and long-term strategic projects: the Greater Bay Area (GBA) of 11 southern Chinese cities including Hong Kong and Macau, and as a so-called super connector in the Belt and Road Initiative of infrastructure projects from China to Europe and Africa.