The head of Hong Kong’s markets regulator on Wednesday made a rare public airing of a dispute, pushing back on comments that it is under the “influence” of Chinese authorities, as competition heats up in Asia for lucrative listings.
“Last week, the Singapore stock exchange was in town, on a marketing trip,” said Ashley Alder, chief executive of the Securities and Futures Exchange. “We don’t normally as an organisation dignify remarks made by competitors with a response, but I thought today I’d make an exception to that rule.”
Mr Alder’s comments were in response to Chew Sutat, executive vice-president in charge of equities and fixed income at the Singapore Exchange. “Hong Kong is part of China, whether you like it or not. Singapore is not,” said Mr Sutat at a press event. “Is Hong Kong really the best place to list, where China has some influence on the SFC?”