Alexa Lam has been reaffirmed deputy chief executive officer of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), by the financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
Lam was also reaffirmed as executive director for policy, China and investment products for a term of three years, with effect from 1 March.
In December, the SFC announced that CEO Martin Wheatley will step down in the summer. Wheatley, who joined the SFC in June 2005 and was appointed as its first CEO in 2006, will take up a new role in September as CEO designate of the UK's Consumer Protection and Markets Authority, one of two new bodies to be established at the end of 2012 as part of the UK government's plan to reform the Financial Services Authority.
No announcement has been made by the SFC or Hong Kong's financial secretary about Wheatley's replacement. But sources have suggested a straight choice between Lam and a Beijing-based regulator.
Commenting on Lam's reappointment, Wheatley said, “I am pleased with the financial secretary's decision to re-appoint Mrs Lam. I am certain that the SFC will continue to benefit from her dedication, wealth of experience, as well as professional knowledge.”
The financial secretary also appointed Carlson Tong as a non-executive director of the SFC for a two-year term starting April 2011.