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Exclusive | Search for replacement Securities and Futures Commission chief executive underway, current deputy tipped as front runner

  • The Securities and Futures Commission has appointed a five-person search committee to find a replacement for Ashley Alder, who announced yesterday that he would not renew his contract when it expires next September
  • Alder’s deputy Julia Leung, a former financial journalist-turned regulator, is the front runner for one of the top regulatory jobs in the world, brokers said

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The Securities and Futures Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Ashley Alder rapelling from the 68th floor of the One Island East building in Quarry Bay on 9 December 2017 to raise funds for the Outward Bound Hong Kong (OBHK) Vertical 1000 “The Adventure of A Life Time” event. Photo: Winson Wong
Enoch Yiu

The deputy chief executive of Hong Kong’s securities regulator is tipped for a promotion to head the watchdog agency in one of Asia’s largest capital markets, as a global search gets underway for a replacement for the incumbent CEO Ashley Alder when he steps down next year, brokers said.

Julia Leung Fung-yee, Alder’s deputy at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is the front runner for the chief executive officer’s job, according to the head of Hong Kong’s securities industry guild.

“Julia Leung is an ideal candidate for the SFC’s top job as she knows the Hong Kong market well,” said the Hong Kong Securities Association’s Chairman Gordon Tsui Luen-on. “When she was at the government, and now at the SFC, she was always very sincere in helping local stockbrokers and fund managers to develop their businesses.”

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The departure of Alder, the second chief executive since the CEO’s job was split from the regulator’s chairmanship in 2006, would require someone to pick up the baton to enforce the city’s financial rules, watch out for minority shareholders’ interests and work with Chinese authorities on cross-border corporate malfeasance. Outstanding cases on the SFC’s docket include the ongoing prosecution of the so-called Enigma Network of companies, allegedly the mastermind of one of the biggest cases of financial fraud in the city’s history.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Ashley Alder delivering the keynote speech at the HK FinTech Week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on 1 November 2018. Photo: Nora Tam
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Ashley Alder delivering the keynote speech at the HK FinTech Week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on 1 November 2018. Photo: Nora Tam
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“We will consider all potential candidates including domestic and international professionals who are interested in the job,” the SFC’s Chairman Tim Lui Tim-leung said in a telephone interview with South China Morning Post.

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