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South China Morning Post
21-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
HKEX success in putting women on boards a boon to Hong Kong
Inclusion and fairness are fundamental human values, yet many societies struggle to strike a balance between removing barriers and holding everyone to high performance standards. One recent example is the controversial US rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion rules . So, it was encouraging to see Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) claim success in its push to eliminate all-male boards from companies listed on the region's third-largest bourse. HKEX said fewer than 10 of Hong Kong's roughly 2,600 listed companies had all-male boards as of the end of June. The exceptions were firms suspended from trading or temporarily out of compliance because of a resignation. At the start of the year, when an HKEX ban on single-gender boards went into effect, there were still 85 companies with all-male boards. When the policy was announced in 2022, more than 800 firms – or 40 per cent of listed companies – had no female directors. More than 21 per cent of the directors today are women. While that lags behind the global average of 27 per cent of board seats held by women as of 2024, the city is in good company with a sizeable number of markets around the world now using mandates and deadlines to push for change. The shift seems good for business. Hong Kong's Financial Services Development Council called it 'confidence-building' for investors to see HKEX taking firm steps. The move was credited with the main board's return to global leadership in initial public offerings. Katherine Ng, head of listing at HKEX, said the requirement had 'enhanced governance in our markets'. Bonnie Chan Yiting, HKEX's first female chief executive officer, said diversity 'brings more ideas, more perspectives into boardroom discussions'.
South China Morning Post
16-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong property sector could face challenges but ‘risks are manageable': FSDC chair
Hong Kong's property sector could face some 'short-term challenges' but 'the risks are manageable' because the city's economy was diversified and sat on a solid foundation, the chairman of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) said on Wednesday. 'As an international financial centre, the global uncertainties would mean some Hong Kong industries would face certain short-term challenges, including the property sector,' said Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng at a press conference after the council released its annual report. 'There is no need to worry about anything like 'too big to fail' because the fact is, the property sector only represents a small portion of Hong Kong's economy and bank loans,' he said. 'As such, the risks are manageable.' The phrase 'too big to fail' became widely known during the 2008 global financial crisis and it refers to the idea that companies can be so large and interconnected that the failure of one firm can ripple outward to other businesses and the economy as a whole. In May, Hong Kong's lived-in home prices were down 28 per cent from a peak in September 2021, according to government statistics. Some prominent developers have lately required debt restructurings. New World Development (NWD) successfully refinanced HK$88.2 billion (US$11.2 billion) worth of debt before a June 30 deadline after months of negotiations that pulled the developer back from the brink of default.
South China Morning Post
04-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's finance sector to benefit from AI, China opening, Asia wealth: think tank
Hong Kong's financial sector is well positioned to benefit from the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), China's opening up and wealth creation in the region, the chairman of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) said on Monday. Advertisement Hong Kong's markets will play a big role in helping companies raise funds, while the liberalisation of China's financial sector would strengthen the city's role as a link between the mainland and the rest of the world, said Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng. Additionally, the growing wealth of Asian business families could spur them to set up family offices in the city to invest and engage in succession planning, the veteran banker said. 'Overall, Hong Kong has a lot of growth opportunities,' Hung said in his first media briefing since becoming the chairman of the government think tank in January. 'What we need to do is to tell the world more about the real picture of Hong Kong.' The rise of DeepSeek has proved to be a catalyst for Hong Kong's stock market. Photo: AFP Hung, who is also the international president of Standard Chartered, said many people overseas viewed the city in a negative light mainly due to what he called misleading media reports that said Hong Kong had lost its verve and freedoms. Advertisement 'FSDC members will go on roadshows to tell the real story of Hong Kong,' Hung said. He said the ongoing market rally made it a good time to promote the city, as sentiment had improved substantially since China announced a stimulus package to support the economy in September, which was followed by DeepSeek's momentum-boosting breakthrough in January.
