As HKEX turns 20, it has never been more relevant as bridge between China and world, CEO Charles Li says

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing marks its 20th birthday on June 27

Latest three-year plan will achieve its goal of keeping Hong Kong’s exchange ‘China anchored, globally connected and technology empowered’: Charles Li

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The viewing deck of the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong. Li says the city’s exchange could move a step closer to becoming a global financial market place in its third decade. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:00pm, 16 Jun 2020Updated: 9:53pm, 16 Jun 2020

China and the rest of the world need each other, and Hong Kong and its bourse operator, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), will play the crucial role of connector and translator, Charles Li Xiaojia said.

In a blog post to the mark the 20th anniversary of HKEX’s foundation, its outgoing chief executive also said his last three-year plan, for the 2019-2021 period, would help the Hong Kong exchange become the most important financial market in Asia.

Formed in 2000 through the combination of the stock exchange, futures exchange and three clearing houses, HKEX marks its 20th birthday on June 27, and Li said he was optimistic that the exchange, Asia’s third-largest capital market, could move a step closer to becoming a global financial market place in its third decade, despite tensions between mainland China and the United States, social unrest around the world and the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our role has never been more relevant or more important,” Li said in his blog. “Hong Kong, and HKEX in particular, will continue to play the critical role of connector, translator and bridge between China and the world.”

He pointed out that the internationalisation of the yuan and the opening of China’s financial markets might be slow, but the country was still on an “irreversible track” towards further integration with international markets. “China and the rest of the world need each other,” Li said.

HKEX’s future will very much depend on whether it can capture the opportunities offered by the burgeoning Chinese economy in the 21st century.

Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director, VC Asset Management

Li, who steps down in October 2021 after 12 years at the helm, said he believed the three-year plan will achieve its goal of keeping Hong Kong’s exchange “China anchored, globally connected and technology empowered”.