The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), which regulates markets in Hong Kong, has named Julia Leung to succeed Alexa Lam as executive director (investment products).
Leung has been undersecretary for financial services and the treasury since 2008. She worked for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for eight years before that, having begun her career as a reporter for the Asian Wall Street Journal between 1984-1994. She begins her three-year term on March 2.
Lam, who joined the SFC in 1999, will retire at the end of February. In a statement, the Hong Kong government thanked her for promoting financial cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Lam was involved in initiatives such as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, which was launched in November to link the main stock exchanges of the two regions.
Lam had also promoted mutual fund recognition between Hong Kong and China, which would allow asset managers to sell China-domiciled funds in Hong Kong and vice versa. A year ago, Lam said the scheme was going through final administrative procedures, however it has still not launched.
©2015 funds global asia