HKEX’s new chief Aguzin vows to keep a steady course connecting China with the world’s markets, focus on sustainability

Hong Kong will provide Chinese investors with financial products and the platform to sharpens its role as the gateway between the world’s second-largest economy and the global capital markets, said Nicolas Aguzin, the new chief executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).

His speech, on his second day overseeing Asia’s second-largest stock market, was a carefully choreographed public appearance - not unlike the tango of his native Argentina - that studiously avoided market-moving headlines. Instead, the former JPMorgan Chase private banker dived into a homily about sustainability and providing the tools to help China and Hong Kong along the path towards President Xi Jinping’s 2060 carbon-neutral goal.

HKEX shares surged 5.4 per cent amid an advancing market to HK$474.60, the most in four months. Aguzin, the first non-ethnic Chinese to run the HKEX since its 2000 establishment, is being closely watched for clues on how he would lead the world’s most valuable market operator as he steps into the shoes of his predecessor Charles Li Xiaojia.

During Li’s 11-year tenure, the stock market capitalisation more than doubled to HK$51.8 trillion (US$6.67 trillion) as of Monday, while elevating Hong Kong as the world’s favourite destination for initial public offerings (IPOs) in seven of the past 12 years.

“My nickname is Gucho,” said the 52-year-old former banker, whose HK$106.05 million salary-and-stock package topped his predecessor’s remuneration as Hong Kong’s highest-paid regulator. “I come from Argentina, which is known for its wine, steak, football and tango, but it is also a place with a lot of natural resources.”