Hong Kong’s securities regulator recently appointed Herbert Smith’s mergers and acquisitions lawyer Ashley Alder as its new chief executive officer, to replace CEO Martin Wheatley who is poised to head Britain’s financial consumer watchdog.
Alder currently serves as the head of Herbert Smith’s Asia operation, and will start his three-year term at the Securities and Futures Commissions in October.
Alder, 52, specialises in M&A and equity capital market transactions of listed companies. His expertise lies in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, regulation and compliance work.
Alder, joined the British firm in 1984, and rose to partnership in 1994. He left Herbert Smith for a stint as an appointed board member and executive director of SFC’s corporate finance division between 2001 and 2004.
At the Hong Kong financial regulator, Alder was responsible for regulations and policy initiatives over public companies, such as the Takeovers Code; new corporate governance standards under the Listing Rules, and stabilisation rules of equity offerings and new statutory rules for prospectuses.
Alder’s recent appointment comes at a time when Chinese companies listed in the West are subject to tighter compliance and regulatory scrutiny, while the Hong Kong bourse continues to attract strong flow of mainland Chinese capital and has won the honour as the world’s top destination for IPOs.
To help uphold Hong Kong’s robust compliance standards, Alder said in a press statement that he looked “forward to working with its board of directors and colleagues to ensure that the SFC continues to strengthen the regulatory framework of Hong Kong, to enhance investor protection while facilitating Hong Kong’s development as a leading international financial centre.”
A British ex-pat who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, Alder earned his Master of Law degree from Cambridge University in 1983, after he graduated from London University with a Bachelor of Law degree in the year prior.
After stepping down from SFC, Wheatley will head England’s Consumer Protection and Markets Authority, a spin-off of the Financial Services Authority, in September. The newly-minted managing director of CPMA will assist the regulator of the U.K. securities markets to oversee financial institutions’ dealings with their customers and counterparties.
During Wheatley’s five-year term at SFC, the Hong Kong financial watchdog was known for its heavy-handed crackdown on market irregularities and insider trading, such as the conviction of Du Jun, former managing director of Morgan Stanley Asia, who was imprisoned for seven years for insider trading.
Nonetheless, SFC was heavily criticised by the Hong Kong public for failing to regulate the sale of Lehman Brothers’ exotic derivative products, which defaulted during the financial crisis.
Alder currently serves as the head of Herbert Smith’s Asia operation, and will start his three-year term at the Securities and Futures Commissions in October.
Alder, 52, specialises in M&A and equity capital market transactions of listed companies. His expertise lies in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, regulation and compliance work.
Alder, joined the British firm in 1984, and rose to partnership in 1994. He left Herbert Smith for a stint as an appointed board member and executive director of SFC’s corporate finance division between 2001 and 2004.
At the Hong Kong financial regulator, Alder was responsible for regulations and policy initiatives over public companies, such as the Takeovers Code; new corporate governance standards under the Listing Rules, and stabilisation rules of equity offerings and new statutory rules for prospectuses.
Alder’s recent appointment comes at a time when Chinese companies listed in the West are subject to tighter compliance and regulatory scrutiny, while the Hong Kong bourse continues to attract strong flow of mainland Chinese capital and has won the honour as the world’s top destination for IPOs.
To help uphold Hong Kong’s robust compliance standards, Alder said in a press statement that he looked “forward to working with its board of directors and colleagues to ensure that the SFC continues to strengthen the regulatory framework of Hong Kong, to enhance investor protection while facilitating Hong Kong’s development as a leading international financial centre.”
A British ex-pat who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years, Alder earned his Master of Law degree from Cambridge University in 1983, after he graduated from London University with a Bachelor of Law degree in the year prior.
After stepping down from SFC, Wheatley will head England’s Consumer Protection and Markets Authority, a spin-off of the Financial Services Authority, in September. The newly-minted managing director of CPMA will assist the regulator of the U.K. securities markets to oversee financial institutions’ dealings with their customers and counterparties.
During Wheatley’s five-year term at SFC, the Hong Kong financial watchdog was known for its heavy-handed crackdown on market irregularities and insider trading, such as the conviction of Du Jun, former managing director of Morgan Stanley Asia, who was imprisoned for seven years for insider trading.
Nonetheless, SFC was heavily criticised by the Hong Kong public for failing to regulate the sale of Lehman Brothers’ exotic derivative products, which defaulted during the financial crisis.
