Hong Kong Stock Exchange will change leadership next year? It is rumored that Charles Li Xiaojia has no intention of continuing as the chairman. UEFA Champions League promotion may or may not be renewed.

November 13th, according to local Hong Kong media reports, former CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Andrew Sheng, who is viewed as one of the popular candidates to succeed Charles Li as the chairman of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), recently privately expressed his unwillingness to take on the role to his friends in the financial industry. This has increased the likelihood of the other HKEX director, Victor Tang, becoming the next chairman. Charles Li's term as chairman of HKEX will expire next year after 6 years, and it is expected that he will step down as per usual practice. Additionally, the first three-year contract of HKEX Group CEO, Nicolas Aguzin, will also expire next year. The succession and renewal arrangements for these two key positions have become topics of discussion in the financial industry. It is reported that both Andrew Sheng and Victor Tang, who have regulatory agency experience, were appointed as directors of HKEX by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government this year, which is seen as paving the way for the next chairman of HKEX. Furthermore, the report points out that the board of directors of HKEX is studying and discussing the issue of whether to renew Nicolas Aguzin's contract, with a decision expected to be made at the board meeting in November. Board members have different evaluations of Nicolas Aguzin's performance over the past two and a half years, but the prevailing opinion leans towards not renewing his contract. Some opinions suggest that in response to Charles Li's term ending in April next year, a contract shorter than the typical three-year term could be considered for Nicolas Aguzin, with a preference for a one-year extension, in order to avoid the chairman and CEO leaving at the same time within a short period. However, no final decision has been made on either option. It is understood that Nicolas Aguzin joined HKEX in 2021 after leaving JP Morgan and became the first non-Chinese CEO of HKEX. However, after joining, the Hong Kong financial market has weakened in terms of stock trading volume and IPO issuance due to external factors such as US interest rate hikes. Initially, it was expected that Nicolas Aguzin would strengthen HKEX's international promotion and position, and open offices in New York and London. However, the effectiveness of these measures has not been particularly outstanding due to cautious foreign investment in the Chinese market.