Hong Kong exchange CEO Nicolas Aguzin is poised to leave firm

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin is set to leave the company, people familiar with the matter said, ending a tenure marked by sliding earnings and a plunge in the share price. 

The CEO, whose three-year contract expires in May, won’t be around for another term, the people said, asking not to be named discussing an internal matter. It couldn’t immediately be determined whether Aguzin will leave immediately or finish his term. 

HKEX later on Friday announced that the position will be replaced by the bourse operator’s current Co-Chief Operating Officer Bonnie Chan Yiting. 

Chan’s appointment will be effective May 24, 2024 for a term of three years, HKEX added. 

The HKEX board as of last week was considering a plan that would have extended Aguzin’s contract for a year. It’s not clear how the decision on his departure was reached. An exchange spokesman declined to comment. 

Aguzin, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive, has led the bourse during one of the toughest spells in its history. He presided over six consecutive quarterly profit declines as global economic concerns, curbs to combat Covid, and a crackdown on private enterprise in mainland China choked off trading and initial public offerings. 

IPO deals in Hong Kong, once one of the leading global markets, are on track for the slowest year in more than two decades. Cash equity trading this year was down 16 percent compared to last year. 

Aguzin took over from fellow JPMorgan alumnus Charles Li, who tied Hong Kong markets closer to China via the landmark Stock Connect. Under Aguzin’s watch, trading links were expanded to include interest rate swaps and exchange-traded products. He also ushered in yuan counter trading to boost the use of the Chinese currency. 

Other changes included a speedier IPO settlement platform and enabling block trades via Stock Connect. 

Still, HKEX’s share price has slid 54 percent from a peak in early 2020 shortly before Aguzin took over. 

Aguzin was paid a total of HK$24 million (US$3.1 million) in 2022, excluding share awards. 

(Bloomberg and Reuters)