UpdateLondon metals man Apurv Bagri beats Hong Kong fund manager to HKEX board in insider vs outsider battle

London-based metal firm Metdist head Apurv Bagri has won the vacant seat at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) board defeating local hedge fund manager and Occupy Central supporter Edward Chin Chi-kin, despite small shareholders’ criticism of the way the bourse openly sided with Bagri.

Bagri becomes the first person from outside the city to join the board after 96.34 per cent of the shareholders voted for him in the annual general meeting on Thursday.

Chin is from Hong Kong but his politics makes him an uneasy fit for the board of a major institution in a city where the business elite likes to steer clear of politics. An open supporter of the Occupy Central movement in 2014, Chin is still active in politics. Some 6.45 per cent of the shareholders voted for him while 93.55 per cent voted against him.

Chin and several shareholders had complained that the exchange had treated him unfairly by issuing a circular asking shareholders to vote for Bagri for his metals expertiseIn the circular, the bourse asked shareholders to vote against Chin as the board had enough financial expertise already.

Before casting their vote at the supercharged AGM that saw record high attendance and voting because of the controversy surrounding the election, several shareholders said HKEX’s blatant support of its own nominee had turned it into a “small-circle election”.