Vincent Cheng

Vincent Cheng GBS JP OBE
Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council
In office 1991[1] – 1995
Appointed by	Sir David Wilson
Personal details
Born	(1948-07-16) 16 July 1948[2] Hong Kong
Alma mater	Kowloon Technical School[3] Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Auckland

Vincent Cheng Hoi-Chuen GBS OBE JP (Chinese: 鄭海泉, born 16 July 1948 in Hong Kong) was the first Chinese Executive Director of HSBC Holdings plc. He was also the first Chinese Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited from 2005 to 2010.

Early Years & Education

Cheng grew up in a poor family of six, despite difficult circumstances and having been crippled by polio at a young age. He was educated in Hong Kong and in New Zealand, receiving his Bachelor of Social Science in Economics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Auckland^[4]

Career

Cheng joined The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1978, when he worked in the Group Finance department. In 1982 he moved to the Bank's Group Planning department, before he was appointed Chief Economist in 1986. From April 1989 to April 1991, he was seconded to the Hong Kong Government's Central Policy Unit and acted as an adviser to the Governor of Hong Kong.^[5] He took up the post of General Manager in June 1995 and then the first Chinese Executive Director of the Bank in November that same year.

He was appointed Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive of Hang Seng Bank in 1998. On 25 May 2005, he became Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, taking over from David Eldon. He also became the Managing Director of HSBC Group and the Director of HSBC Bank Australia Limited. On April 1, 2007, he became Chairman of the HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited. He has also been appointed the first Chinese Executive Director of HSBC Holdings on February 1, 2008.^[6]

In January 2008, he was appointed a member of the National Committee of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and a senior advisor to the 11th Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPPCC.

His previous government advisory roles have included Member of the Executive Council from 1995 to 1997 and a Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to the People's Republic of China from 1994 to 1997. He was also a Member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Government from 1991 to 1995.

His current public service duties include serving as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. He is also Honorary President of the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation.

Cheng has been appointed the Justice of the Peace, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1994), and Gold Bauhinia Star (2005).

References