Exco Member Laura Cha Picked To Head HKEx

Executive councillor Laura Cha has been named as the new chair of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) – the first woman to hold the position in the history of the stock exchange operator.

In a statement, the HKEx board said Cha has been appointed to succeed CK Chow for the next two years – a period coinciding with the remainder of her term as a director.

It added that the appointment is subject to the approval of Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Cha, 67, is also the chairwoman of the Financial Services Development Council and a non-executive deputy chairwoman of HSBC.

She had earlier served as an independent non-executive director of HKEx and was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal last year. In 2001, Cha had became the first non-mainlander to be appointed as vice chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Cha became the target of an online campaign during the 2014 Occupy Movement when she compared the lack of universal suffrage in the territory to the situation African slaves faced in the US after emancipation. She noted that the former slaves had to wait 107 years for their voting rights, and Hong Kong could also wait longer.

Thousands signed the petition to HSBC and Cha later apologised, saying she did not mean to offend anyone. She said all she wanted to do was to point out that democracy evolves differently in different nations.