HK markets regulator Alder to take UK watchdog role

Ashley Alder, chief executive of Hong Kong’s Securities and utures Commission (SFC), will step down to become chair of Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority, the SFC said on Friday.

Alder has led Hong Kong’s markets watchdog since 2011 and will leave the post at the end of September, taking up his new role in January 2023. The SFC said it will begin recruiting for Alder’s replacement soon, without providing further details.

He previously said he would step down in 2020 before reversing this decision, pointing to the need for regulatory clarity after the Covid-19 pandemic roiled markets.