In this Jan 15, 2018 file photo, Ashley Alder, chief executive officer of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, speaks during the Hong Kong Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. (ANTHONY KWAN / BLOOMBERG)
HONG KONG – The head of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, Ashley Alder, who has set the strategic direction for the securities market regulator and helped it to become a robust regulator, while also initiating reforms in policy and operations, is leaving 15 months before his tenure ends.
During his tenure, the Hong Kong market went through a significant transformation from being merely a domestic market. The SFC steered greater connections between Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and world financial centers.
Expressing gratitude to Alder for his dedicated service and remarkable contributions to the SFC, the government said he has made zealous efforts in fostering strong regulatory structure and functions at the SFC, and taken forward a range of policy and operational reforms.
READ MORE: HK reappoints top securities regulator
“Alder's leadership has helped the SFC ride out many challenges amidst a fast-changing and challenging financial landscape locally and globally,” the government said in a statement.
The SFC announced early Friday that Alder, 62, is leaving to become chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom in January 2023.
Alder's leadership has helped the SFC ride out many challenges amidst a fast-changing and challenging financial landscape locally and globally.
HKSAR Govt
The SFC said it will begin recruiting for Alder’s replacement soon, without providing further details.
Alder previously said he would step down in 2020 before reversing this decision, pointing to the need for regulatory clarity after the COVID-19 pandemic roiled markets.
Alder has overseen the build up of a solid regulatory framework which has helped to create resilience and confidence in Hong Kong as an international financial centre and to meet unprecedented challenges the market has to confront.
In 2017, the SFC took a “real time” approach to regulation where targeted actions are taken. Since 2016, the SFC also adopted an approach where senior management is to be held accountable at licensed firms. The regime related to initial public offerings was revamped in 2013 to put sponsors on notice for their failings.
Alder has been at the helm of the securities market regulator for more than a decade.
The SFC said it will begin recruiting for Alder’s replacement soon, without providing further details.
During this time, the launch of the Stock Connect in 2014, reflected the strong cooperation between the China Securities Regulatory Commission and SFC in overseeing different regulatory systems, especially cross-border risks such as market misconduct and systemic risks. Building on this success, the Bond Connect was launched in 2017 and Wealth Management Connect began in 2021.
"Ashley will be remembered for forging the SFC as a determined, effective and independent market regulator well respected by its local and international peers," SFC chairman Tim Lui said in a statement.
Alder’s current appointment ends on September 30, 2023, the SFC said.
He became CEO on October 1, 2011, and was re-appointed for a three-year term in May 2020.
Having launched his career as a solicitor in London in 1984, Alder, a University of Cambridge Master of Laws graduate, came to Hong Kong in 1989 and worked at law firm Herbert Smith. He later became the head of Asia for the firm, now Herbert Smith Freehills.
ALSO READ: Outside the box
From 2001 to 2004, Alder served as executive director of corporate finance at the SFC and then rejoined Herbert Smith. He went back to the SFC in 2011.
As CEO of the SFC, Alder has also chaired the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions since 2016.
In the statement, Friday, Alder thanked all those who “have contributed to the evolution of the SFC into an organization which is acknowledged globally as one of a handful of world-class market regulators. I am especially grateful to the SFC’s past and current board members and all the SFC staff who deliver first-rate outcomes throughout our day-to-day work.”
He said: “The policies and reforms we have put in place are now firmly embedded and institutionalised and my successor will inherit a solid and effective regulatory framework which underpins Hong Kong’s success as an international financial centre.’’
The SFC said it will soon begin a recruitment exercise for a successor.
Wang Zhan contributed to this report
With Reuters inputs