HKEX Establishes Mainland China Advisory Group and Mainland Markets Panel; Appoints New International Advisory Council Member

  • New Advisory Group and Panel to Support HKEX’s China Strategy
  • Weijian Shan appointed as newest member of International Advisory Council

 

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is pleased to announce today (Thursday) the establishment of a Mainland China Advisory Group (Advisory Group). The Advisory Group comprises senior industry experts with deep China market knowledge and experience, who will act as advisors to the Board of HKEX on the development of China’s financial markets and economy.

Fred Hu, Chairman, Primavera Capital Ltd; Ma Weihua, former President, China Merchants Bank; and Zhang Lei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hillhouse Capital Management Group, have been appointed as members of the Advisory Group, which will be chaired by Laura M Cha, HKEX Chairman. Zhang Yichen, HKEX Non-Executive Director, and Nicolas Aguzin, HKEX Chief Executive Officer, will also be members of the Advisory Group, which will meet several times a year.

HKEX today is also pleased to announce the establishment of a new Mainland Markets Panel (Panel) to be chaired by HKEX Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin. The Panel will comprise industry and market practitioners, who will share knowledge and provide feedback and advice to HKEX on the Group’s China business and initiatives through the Panel’s regular meetings.

Laura M Cha, HKEX Chairman, said: “China Anchored is at the core of HKEX’s strategy. We are committed to further elevating the role of HKEX and Hong Kong as the key facilitator in China’s connectivity with international markets, and the establishment of the new Mainland China Advisory Group and Mainland Markets Panel will provide invaluable support to HKEX in the future development of its China initiatives.”

Separately, HKEX is today pleased to welcome Weijian Shan to its International Advisory Council (Council). Mr Shan is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of private equity firm PAG Group. Established in 2019, the Council comprises experts in economics, business, technology and finance from around the world who act as advisors to the HKEX Board of Directors. With the addition of Mr Shan, the Council now comprises seven members.

Mrs Cha said: “I am deeply honoured to welcome Fred Hu, Ma Weihua, Zhang Lei and Zhang Yichen as the first members of the Mainland China Advisory Group, and Weijian Shan to the International Advisory Council. They are highly-respected business and finance leaders with a wealth of experience, and I look forward to their valuable counsel and insight, as we shape the next chapter of HKEX’s journey.”

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Biographies of Mainland China Advisory Group’s Members (other than HKEX representatives)

Fred HU

Fred Hu has been the founder and Chairman of Primavera Capital Group since 2011. Prior to this, he was Chairman of Greater China and a partner at Goldman Sachs, where he was instrumental in building the firm’s franchise in the region.

Mr Hu also served at the International Monetary Fund, and he has advised the Chinese government on financial reform, state-owned enterprises restructuring, and macroeconomic policies.

Mr Hu has been an independent non-executive director for Ant Group since August 2020 and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited since April 2019, a director for UBS Group AG since 2018, a non-executive chairman for Yum China Holdings Inc. since 2016, and an independent non-executive director for HKEX from November 2014 to April 2021.

He holds a Master in Engineering Science from Tsinghua University, and a Master and PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

 

MA Weihua

Ma Weihua was Executive Director as well as President and CEO of China Merchants Bank, and concurrently served as Chairman of the board of directors of Wing Lung Bank, CIGNA & CMC Life Insurance Company and China Merchants Fund Management Company.

Previously, Mr Ma also served in the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), where he was Deputy Director of the General Office, Deputy Director of the Finance and Planning Office, and Governor of the PBOC Hainan Branch.

He currently holds positions in a number of organisations, including as Chairman of National Fund for Technology Transfer and Commercialization, China Global Philanthropy Institute, and One Foundation.

Mr Ma is also an adjunct professor in top Chinese universities including Peking University and Tsinghua University. In 2019, Mr Ma was appointed as member of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Impact Steering Group, Chairman of SDG Financing Advisory Committee, and China Special Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme.

Mr Ma received his PhD in economics from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in China.

 

ZHANG Lei

Zhang Lei is the founder of Hillhouse Group. He earned his MBA and MA in International Relations from Yale University and is a member of the Yale Board of Trustees. He also serves as Chair of the Yale Asia Development Council.

Before attending Yale, Mr Zhang earned his BA in Economics from Renmin University in China, where he is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr Zhang is a founding Trustee and Chairman of the Development Council of Westlake University, China’s first graduate-level university dedicated to advancing research in the basic sciences.

Mr Zhang was also a founding donor of the Westlake University Endowment. He is also a member of the Court of The University of Hong Kong.

 

Biography of International Advisory Council’s New Member

Weijian SHAN

Weijian Shan is Chairman and CEO of PAG, a leading Asia-focused private equity firm. Prior to PAG, he was a partner at TPG, and Co-Managing Partner of TPG Asia (formerly known as Newbridge Capital).

Previously, Mr Shan was a managing director at JP Morgan, and an assistant professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds an MA and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.

Mr Shan is the bestselling author of Out of the Gobi (2019) and Money Games (2020) and a contributor to opinion pages of leading publications in the world.

 

 

About HKEX

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is one of the world’s major exchange groups, and operates a range of equity, commodity, fixed income and currency markets.  HKEX is the world’s leading IPO market and as Hong Kong’s only securities and derivatives exchange and sole operator of its clearing houses, it is uniquely placed to offer regional and international investors access to Asia’s most vibrant markets.

HKEX is also the global leader in metals trading, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, The London Metal Exchange (LME) and LME Clear Limited.  This commodity franchise was further enhanced with the launch of Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME), in China, in 2018.

HKEX launched the pioneering Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme in 2014, further expanded with the launch of Shenzhen Connect in 2016, and the launch of Bond Connect in 2017.

www.hkexgroup.com

 

Ends

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