Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) today (Friday) received the written approval of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on the appointment of Chow Chung Kong as Chairman of HKEx with immediate effect until the conclusion of the annual general meeting of HKEx to be held in 2014.

Mr Chow was appointed Chairman at a meeting of the HKEx Board on Tuesday.  Pursuant to Section 69 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance, his appointment was subject to the written approval of the HKSAR Chief Executive.

Mr Chow said, "It is an honour to serve as Chairman of HKEx.  Hong Kong is a leading international financial centre and HKEx's markets are pillars of the local economy.  I look forward to working closely with my fellow Directors, management, regulators, market participants and other stakeholders to continue HKEx’s success.

"HKEx is in very good shape, but we cannot afford to be complacent.  As the world’s financial markets continue to evolve, we must maintain HKEx’s competitiveness.  We will continue to focus on providing quality markets supported by good infrastructure."

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