Press release

Recruitment of SFC Chairman

Saturday, April 30, 2005

A government spokesman announced today (April 30) that a selection panel has been set up to identify and consider suitable candidates for appointment as Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), upon the expiry of the contract of the incumbent Chairman, Mr Andrew Sheng, on September 30, 2005.

The selection panel is chaired by the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang and comprises the Honourable Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, Mr Charles Lee, Mr Christopher Cheng, Mr Marvin Cheung and Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma.

At present, the Chairman of the SFC is an Executive Director, heading both the governing body as well as the executive arm of the Commission. To further strengthen the internal governance of the SFC in line with good corporate governance practice, the Government introduced the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2005 (the Bill) into the Legislative Council on April 6, 2005 to split the current executive Chairman post into a Chairman post and a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) post. The Chairman will be appointed by the Chief Executive in accordance with the present appointment system for public and statutory bodies while the CEO will be recruited through world-wide search. The Bill is currently being considered by the Legislative Council.

"The selection panel will commence a global recruitment of the proposed CEO of the SFC, who will be entitled Chairman under the existing legal provisions but CEO upon the passage of the Bill.

"The successful candidate will be pivotal in leading the executive arm of the Commission. He/she will have the executive responsibility on the day-to-day running of the SFC. He/she will implement the objectives, policies and strategies set by the SFC governing body, and facilitate the effective functioning of the governing body.

"A comprehensive search will be conducted both locally and overseas to ensure that the best qualified candidate will be identified for the post," the government spokesman said.

Recruitment advertisements have been placed in the local and international press starting from today (April 30). An executive search firm has been appointed as the recruitment agent to assist the selection panel in the exercise.

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