Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 29, 2025

Hong Kong’s new stock exchange boss to receive US$13.7 million in pay

Hong Kong’s new stock exchange boss to receive US$13.7 million in pay

Nicolas Aguzin, who takes office on Monday, will be awarded HKEX shares worth HK$96.05 million on top of his basic salary of HK$10 million.

Aguzin will make history as the first non-Chinese person to be chief executive of the HKEX since its establishment in 2000.

The new boss of Hong Kong’s stock exchange, Nicolas Aguzin, will become the highest paid regulator in the city with a total pay package of at least HK$106.05 million (US$13.67 million) when he takes office on Monday.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX)’s incoming chief executive will receive a HK$10 million basic salary, which is 7.4 per cent higher than his predecessor Charles Li Xiaojia’s HK$9.315 million, the exchange announced on Friday. He will serve a term of three years.

The former JPMorgan banker will also be awarded 211,756 shares of HKEX, worth HK$96.05 million as of Friday’s close at HK$453.6 per share. The shares will vest equally in the next two years, meaning half will become cashable after one year of service and half after his second.

The exchange said the shares are “compensation for loss of unvested long-term incentives earned through his service with his previous employer”.


Known affectionately as “Gucho” to his colleagues, the 52-year-old Argentinian has spent three decades at JPMorgan and was most recently chief executive of its international private bank and a member of the operating committee overseeing the lender’s asset and wealth management operations.

HKEX said he will get other benefits including a discretionary bonus and more shares based on his performance.

If he does get a bonus, his pay may well surpass that of Li, who stepped down from the post in December after heading the exchange for more than a decade.

Li received a total of HK$120.49 million in 2020, which included his basic salary, benefits, bonus and awarded shares. He received a bonus of HK$80 million and HK$23.77 million worth of shares when he retired from the exchange.

Li’s final year’s pay package was more than double the HK$51 million he took home in 2019.

Last year, Hong Kong ­Monetary Authority chief executive ­Eddie Yue Wai-man earned HK$10.32 million, while Securities and Futures Commission chief executive Ashley Alder took home HK$10.24 million.

The exchange operator closed 0.9 per cent lower on Friday at HK$453.6. Its share have risen 77 per cent in the last year.


Aguzin will make history as the first non-Chinese person to be the chief executive of the HKEX since its establishment in 2000. He is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, but not Mandarin.

The exchange wanted to tap his international network as his JPMorgan career took him to New York, Buenos Aires and Hong Kong.

He will work with the governments of Hong Kong and Beijing to further expand a series of cross-border investment channels that have allowed global investors to trade mainland shares and bonds, and Chinese investors to trade Hong Kong stocks.

One of his main tasks will be to boost the amount of capital flowing through the “southbound” channel of the bond connect link – mainland investors buying Hong Kong bonds.

Aguzin may also identify new acquisition targets for HKEX, which in February became the first overseas investor to be allowed to buy a stake in a mainland Chinese bourse, when it took a 7 per cent stake in the newly formed Guangzhou Futures Exchange.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×