Mr Kwong Ki-chi, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) announced the following senior appointments today (Monday).

Mr Frederick Grede has been appointed Deputy Chief Operating Officer of HKEx and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited. He will join the HKEx Group on April 5, 2000.

Mr Grede has worked at the Chicago Board of Trade for more than 20 years. His last position was Executive Vice President, Planning and Operations, where he was responsible for the integration of strategic planning, technology and business process as well as the daily operations of the exchange. Mr Grede possesses a Doctor of Law degree from Depaul University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Mr Stewart Shing has been appointed Head, Clearing Business Unit of HKEx. He will continue as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC).

Mr Shing has more than ten years' experience in securities clearing and was involved in the early development of HKSCC. He had held senior positions with several leading securities brokerages, including Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Nomura International (HK) Limited and Sun Hung Kai Securities Limited before he joined HKSCC. Mr Shing has an MBA from the University of New South Wales, and is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants and a Member of the Hong Kong Computer Society.

Mr David Cheung has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of HKEx and will join the HKEx Group on April 12, 2000.

Mr Cheung has more than 20 years' experience in banking and finance in the US, UK, China, North-East Asia and Hong Kong. He is currently Chief Financial Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong, China and North-East Asia. In his current position, he has played a key role in the re-engineering of critical business functions within the Asia region and has led strategic initiatives to identify business opportunities post-interest rate deregulation. He has worked closely with Hong Kong Monetary Authority on financial disclosure issues, and with rating agencies and institutional investors on credit rating and investment opportunities in the region. Mr Cheung has an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California and is a Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.