Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng, the head of consumer banking at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), will succeed Peter Sullivan as chief executive of the bank's operations in the city when the latter retires at the end of the year.
Mr Hung, 43, will be the second ethnic Chinese to take up the position, underscoring the growing importance of the mainland market to the emerging market-focused bank.
'It will be more favourable for the lender to promote local talent, since they have international management experience in both Hong Kong and China markets,' said Timothy Li, a research analyst at Dao Heng Securities.
Along with overseeing the bank's local operations, Mr Hung will also advise on the group's growing mainland presence, which is managed by Katherine Tsang King-suen, a sister of Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, according to a source at the bank.
Mr Hung yesterday played down the symbolism surrounding his promotion, saying: 'Market turnover is so active. It's just a normal senior appointment.'
Mr Hung, who joined the bank 15 years ago, took up his current posting in 2005, after spending a year as the lender's local chief operating officer. Before that, he was group head of investor relations at the bank's head office in London.
'Hong Kong consumer banking operations under Ben's leadership achieved record high profits in the first half of this year and have successfully expanded its franchise,' the bank said yesterday in a statement announcing Mr Hung's new appointment.
