HONG Kong’s government reappointed Eddie Yue as its de-facto central bank chief to another five-year term to keep stability in the financial hub.
The 59-year-old will get a raise in his annual salary to HK$7.4 million (S$1.3 million), up from HK$7.2 million last year, the government said on Friday (Jul 26). His performance bonus remained capped at HK$2.3 million a year.
Yue has helmed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) since 2019, where the main responsibility is ensuring the city’s currency peg to the US dollar.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that “under the leadership of Eddie, the HKMA has maintained the stability of Hong Kong’s money market and banking system”.
Yue has over the past years also assumed a larger role as the city’s face to the banking community with Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub increasingly being questioned amid a drop off in business and Beijing’s tightening political grip.
“My team and I will remain vigilant and make every effort to keep things on an even keel and promote further development,” he said. “Above all, we are committed to safeguarding monetary and financial stability.”
Before joining government service, he worked as a bank teller. He helped set up the HKMA in 1993, then under British colonial rule, where he worked alongside his mentor, the first HKMA chief executive Joseph Yam. BLOOMBERG
