The board of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) announced today (Thursday) the appointment of Paul Chow as the chief executive of HKEx. Mr Chow will join HKEx on 1 May 2003. As provided under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO), Mr Chow will also be an ex-officio member of the board.

Pursuant to the SFO, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved the said appointment.

Mr Chow has over 33 years of business and management experience, and has worked in a number of industries, including information technology, securities, banking and fund management. Mr Chow joined HSBC Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited in April 1997 and is currently its regional chief executive, Asia-Pacific ex-Japan. In this role, he is responsible for the management and development of asset management businesses in the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Region. Mr Chow was also appointed in December 2001 as a director of HSBC Asset Management Limited, the holding company of HSBC Asset Management Group in London and a member of its global executive committee. From January 2000 to September 2001, Mr Chow was the chairman of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association.

Mr Chow was a former chief executive of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited from November 1991 to January 1997, and before then, he was the chief executive of Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited for two years. During his service at the Stock Exchange, he was the chairman of the working committee and an ex-officio member of the executive committee of FIBV, the Federation Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs (now the World Federation of Exchanges) (1994 to 1996), chairman of the East Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (1994 to 1995) and a member of the Standing Committee on Company Law Reform and the Securities Compensation Fund Committee (1992 to 1996).

Mr Chow holds various Government committee and community appointments, including being a member of the Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee of the HKSAR Government, a member of the Advisory Committee of the SFC and a member of the Corporate Advisory Council of the Hong Kong Securities Institute.

Mr Chow holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Diploma in Management Studies and an MBA degree from the University of Hong Kong, and a Diploma in Finance (Distinction) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Mr Chow is a fellow of the Hong Kong Computer Society and the Hong Kong Management Association.

Mr Frederick Grede, the chief operating officer of HKEx, is appointed the acting chief executive during the interim period from 16 April 2003 to 30 April 2003, both dates inclusive.