Biography
Mrs Laura Cha Shih May-lung is Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd and a member of the Hong Kong-United States Business Council. She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of Ant Group Co., Ltd., a Senior International Advisor of Foundation Assets Management Sweden AB and a member of Sotheby’s International Advisory Board. In addition, she is also Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and a Director of the World Federation of Exchanges.
Mrs Cha has extensive experience in the financial services sector in both Hong Kong and Mainland China. She was the first, and to-date, the only person outside Mainland China to join the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China at the vice-ministerial rank when she was appointed as Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission in January 2001. She served in that position until 2004. Mrs Cha worked for the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong from 1991 to 2000, becoming its Deputy Chairman in 1998.
Mrs Cha was a member of the Executive Council of the Government of Hong Kong from 2004 to 2022. She was also Chairman of The Financial Services Development Council of Hong Kong from January 2013 to July 2018, and Chairman of the University Grants Committee from 2007 to 2011. She was awarded a Silver Bauhinia Star in 2001, a Gold Bauhinia Star in 2009 and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2017 by the Hong Kong Government in recognition of her public service.
Mrs Cha obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University in California. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University looks forward to deeper collaboration and dialogue with Mrs Cha to help take the University towards new horizons for the benefit of Hong Kong, the Nation, and the world.
Citation
Mr Council Chairman,
Describing why Mrs Laura Cha Shih May-lung is so deserving of an honorary doctorate is not a difficult matter. Her long and illustrious list of personal and professional achievements tells you all you need to know.
The real challenge is distilling such a unique, varied and successful career into a concise citation. She is, after all, one of Hong Kong’s most influential female business and political leaders. For example, in 2014 an American TV documentary called her “one of China’s 10 most powerful women.” In 2020 and 2021 she was named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women International” by Fortune , and Forbes included her in its list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” in 2021 and 2022.
Mrs Cha’s career has spanned both the public and private sectors, while simultaneously breaking numerous gender stereotypes. As the first female Chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX), she is currently playing an instrumental role in Hong Kong’s development as a key international financial centre, and the continuing evolution of China’s capital markets.
On the policy-making front, she was the longest serving member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong SAR Government, serving from 2004 to 2022. She was also the only female member of its Financial Leaders Forum, which advises the administration on monetary stability, financial safety and prosperity.
Mrs Cha was the first – and to-date the only person, female or otherwise – outside Mainland China, to join the Central Government at the vice-ministerial rank, serving as Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) from 2001 to 2004. She also spent time at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong, becoming its Deputy Chairman in 1998.
Modest by nature, Mrs Cha is nevertheless well aware of her position at the forefront of Asia’s business, social and political landscapes. As she told Forbes , “I hope my Asian business (expertise) and woman’s viewpoint creates additional value in the debate around global businesses, sustainability and diversity.”
When asked about advice for women who aspire to follow in her footsteps, her response is straightforward. “It’s all about making your own choices at the right time. Above all, believe in yourself and commit to do your best in order to achieve those things that are important to you,” she told a reporter in 2021.
Mrs Cha has taken her own advice to heart. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she went back to graduate school after having two children and obtained a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University in California. She put her legal training to work for a string of well-known clients, including many major foreign-Sino joint ventures.
Mrs Cha could not have picked a better time than 1991 to join the SFC. She played a major role two years later in structuring the listing of Chinese State-owned enterprises on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, thus ushering 30 years of partnership, innovation and connectivity between Hong Kong and Mainland markets.
Starting as an Assistant Director in the Corporate Finance Division of the SFC, she rose to become Deputy Chairman in 1998. Shortly thereafter she was hand-picked by Premier Zhu Rongji to be the Vice Chairman of the CSRC – serving from 2001 to 2004. A strong advocate for corporate governance in the nascent Chinese securities markets, she made it mandatory for listed companies to have independent directors and promoted transparency and accountability in corporate disclosure.
During her ten years at the SFC, she played a key role in modernising the stock exchange’s listing mechanism. Importantly, she led the project to demutualise and merge the stock and futures exchanges and clearing houses, and transformed the holding company into a listed company – the HKEX of today.
In a well-deserved twist of fate, Mrs Cha joined HKEX in 2018 as Chairman, setting and implementing critical strategic directions during a time of intensified social, economic and geopolitical tensions.
After stepping down from the CSRC in 2004, Mrs Cha was appointed as a non-official member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council, and reappointed by successive administrations. By the time she left in 2022, she had chaired some of the most important statutory bodies in Hong Kong. She was also a Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress of China from 2008 to 2017.
In recognition of her public service, she has been awarded three prestigious public honours – the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2001, the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2009, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal in 2017.
Despite a full public calendar, Mrs Cha has not forsaken her business roots. She was an Independent Non-Executive Director of HSBC Holdings plc, and in December 2019 was appointed as the first female Non-Executive Chairman of HSBC’s Asia Pacific subsidiary, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. She has sat on the boards of various global companies and remains a Senior International Advisor of Foundation Assets Management Sweden AB; and a member of Sotheby’s International Advisory Board. Last, but far from least, she is also Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and a Director of the World Federation of Exchanges.
Mr Council Chairman, in recognition of her remarkable achievements in the private and public sectors, I have the great honour of presenting Mrs Laura Cha Shih May-lung for the conferment of the degree of Doctor of Business Administration honoris causa.
Response Speech
Chairman Dr Lam, President Professor Teng, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am deeply honoured to be conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University today. I am humbled to be in the company of my fellow honourees, each of whom has outstanding achievements in their respective fields.
When I went to law school at the age of 30 after having two children, I would have never dreamt that my journey would lead me to where I am today.
I have been extraordinarily fortunate and privileged in my 40-year career to have had the opportunities to witness and participate in the economic development and the opening up of our country, and Hong Kong’s parallel path in becoming an important international financial centre. From accompanying clients of multinational companies to negotiate Sino-foreign joint ventures on the Mainland in the 1980s, to structuring the historical listing of state-owned enterprises on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the 1990s, to being a cadre in the Central Government as a securities market regulator in the early 2000s, I have seen firsthand China’s transformation from an emerging economy to the second largest economy in the world. At the same time, our country’s phenomenal economic growth and the need for capital has enabled Hong Kong to develop from a domestic financial market into our formidable position today as an important international financial centre.
When I joined the Securities and Futures Commission in 1991, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong had 357 listed companies, with a total market capitalization of HK$950 billion. Today, we have over 2,600 listed companies and a total market capitalization of HK$33 trillion, making us one of the top five largest stock markets in the world. As a participant in the financial sector for the last 30 years, I can say that Hong Kong’s status in the global financial market has been entirely due to our ability to connect global investors with the investment opportunities arising from China’s economic growth through the Chinese enterprises which are listed on our market. The discipline and process of an initial public offering required of state-owned enterprises wishing to raise capital in Hong Kong also achieved the Central Government’s goal in reforming the state sector in the early 1990s.
But investment opportunities alone would not be enough to attract global investors. Hong Kong Inc, by this I mean the Government, the regulators such as the SFC and the HK Monetary Authorities, together with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, have continuously improved our market structure and regulatory standards in the last few decades. It is the international standards of our regulatory framework, which ensures that our market is fair, transparent, and backed by the rule of law, that have given global investors the confidence to invest in our market.
I am fortunate that my career was developed over this exciting period of China’s economic growth and Hong Kong’s development. And I am tremendously grateful and proud that I have had the opportunities to play a small part in the process.
On a personal level, I have seen that given equal opportunities, women will do just as well as men. I have often shared my personal experience with young women and encouraged them to decide and prioritise what is appropriate for their particular stage in life, to focus on the task at hand, and not be afraid to take on challenges.
Last but not least, I would not be standing here today without the unfailing support of my husband Victor, who is in the audience today. My heartfelt gratitude goes firstly to him, and to my family, friends and colleagues who have supported and cheered me along the way.
Thank you, PolyU, for bestowing this great honour on me.