Hong Kong’s US$80 billion stock exchange is getting its first foreign chief executive, after regulators on Tuesday approved the appointment of an Argentinean who used to head international private banking at American investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Nicolas Aguzin, 52, will become the first non-Chinese to serve as chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the world’s most valuable bourse operator.

Aguzin will start his three-year term on May 24, replacing Charles Li, who retired last September after a decade.

Deviating from normal practice, the HKEX announced the appointment on Feb. 9, before securing the approval of the Securities and Futures Commission. Critics said that the HKEX was trying to “coerce” the securities watchdog into giving the green light.

The incoming chief executive is stepping into the role at a time when Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong is hanging over the city’s reputation as a global financial hub. Pro-Beijing figures have questioned why a foreigner is being tasked with helming the HKEX.

Ignatius Chan, an independent non-executive director of the HKEX, defended the recruitment. He said it was “particularly important” to prove that Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center remained unchanged.

Chan said that an HKEX chief executive who was familiar with European and American markets, and yet did not have a green card, “can give foreign investors confidence.”

Many international investors had doubts about whether Hong Kong could be a truly global, fair and independent market following Beijing’s passage of national security laws in the city last June, he noted.

The HKEX board of directors hoped Aguzin’s expertise would help the bourse continue to promote its mission to engage with mainland China and the rest of the world, an official statement dated Feb. 9 said.

Having a foreigner as its chief executive would play a major role in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s internationalization process, HKEX chair Laura Cha said at the time.

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