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The largest bank accountant for life has a cash-strapped job in Hong Kong around the world

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By the beginning of January, after the departure of their prime minister, a stock exchange in Hong Kong was hampered in negotiations for future key employment positions as the capital of Asia’s most important economic center and a bridge between China and major Western markets.

The choice of who would lead Hong Kong The exchange of Clearing was difficult: go with the customs and appoint someone from China or Hong Kong to establish the ship during the crisis and its relationship with Beijing. Or photograph a Portuguese-speaking Argentine with a Croatian passport by the name – Gucho – well-known in the residential and residential business of London, New York and Buenos Aires.

Surprised by the launch in Hong Kong where it is said that 2021 was a stable time for travel, HKEX in February decided Nicolas Aguzin – a former JPMorgan’s Asia operations manager, based in Hong Kong since 2012 and a bank accountant known for his rise through the US military.

Aguzin joined JPMorgan in 1990 in Buenos Aires. By the time JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon signed the press to announce Aguzin’s new job at HKEX, he was still using Gucho’s name – a play on Spanish words that portrayed him as a great man. “Gucho is a well-known leader and a man,” Dimon lamented.

Ahead of his first day as HKEX head on Monday, Aguzin’s appointment was based on what the 52-year-old is not – a Chinese speaker. But for that reason, it is said that former JPMorgan allies and financial officials do not miss the target. Aguzin, known to JPMorgan as a well-rounded and well-communicated operator, has also been brought in to meet global ambitions that could threaten Beijing’s short-term dependency and relocation.

“Over the past few years, the stock market in Hong Kong has repeatedly made progress in China, and has not yet made an effort to connect with the world,” wrote Weijian Shan, chairman of the PAG, one of Hong Kong’s top economic groups. Chinese magazine Caijing. “As a newcomer, Gucho needs to have a better understanding of how to work in the region, which will have a significant impact on the retail market in Hong Kong.”

Some see a new prospect for a new business. “I see him attracting companies in Southeast Asia and Latin America to register on the site,” said one of his colleagues.

Aguzin does not consider the business to be in trouble. The legacy of those who led him to HKEX – a former JPMorgan banker – Charles Li he is known to be very successful. He gave his ten-year leadership to promote bilateral relations and exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen. He devised a system that enabled the money to flow to and from northern China via Hong Kong.

Under Li’s control, the HKEX corporate stock market doubled to HK $ 53tn ($ 6.7tn) and was the world’s most popular public offering platform in the last seven years. The companies raised HK $ 398bn in 2020, the highest year in a decade. IPOs and business processes have hit more notes in recent months.

HKEX’s $ 32bn investment in the London Stock Exchange Group was launched when global attention was focused on Hong Kong government protests rather than its power © AP

But even Li realized that the change depended heavily on China’s capital and size. Chinese companies now make up more than half of Hong Kong’s registered ones, as well as three-thirds of all foreign exchange companies.

Li’s attempt to rectify what came as an amazing $ 32bn opportunity to buy London Stock Exchange Group in 2019 that he came out quickly and shamelessly. It was founded where the global interest was anti-government protests in Hong Kong instead of its power, the failure to reiterate the difficulties of integrating economic and political interests between Asia and the West.

One of the HKEX members complained about the LSE seizure being taken away and said global integration should be at the forefront of Aguzin’s leadership. “It must have been a long time ago,” he said, adding that Beijing and Hong Kong would benefit from western connectivity with major Chinese markets.

A number of people close to JPMorgan say Aguzin’s election shows that the change did not deter in the process of gaining international consensus, perhaps further bias against the LSE.

If this is his first big thing, say former JPMorgan colleagues, they will take Gucho’s skills as a negotiator with the ambassador. The intent may be destructive, but the other task is to defend Hong Kong’s reputation if Asian economies follow Beijing’s resolve. national security law and borderline coronavirus inhibitors. HKEX could be forced to fight hard to ratify any alliance in many western countries depending on its relations with China.

$ 1.3 Million

Nicolas Aguzin’s annual salary at HKEX

“If Hong Kong really wants to be the first in the world in the next decade that lists the best companies, with a foreigner and an understanding of the upcoming markets, how to grow one, but has been trained in top organizations around the world, Nick sounds “Well,” says Micky Malka, a Venezuelan financier and former Aguzin colleague.

As HKEX boss, Aguzin received an annual salary of $ 1.3m, about 7% more than Li. They will also receive 211,756 shares – currently valued at around HK $ 100m – which can be sold out in full after two years’ work, plus a performance bonus. Payslip isn’t supposed to be his motivator, though. Aguzin’s fortune amounts to about two million dollars, probably through what he had in MercadoLibre, a Latin American response to Amazon and Alibaba. A member of the board of MercadoLibre, Aguzin has sold about half of its assets to the company over the past few years for more than $ 7m.

Marcos Galperin, the Argentine billionaire who founded MercadoLibre, described Aguzin as a “hard worker”. Aguzin was the largest bank at MercadoLibre IPO, and the company’s market capitalization is now $ 69bn. “I met him in 2001 when we were a beginner with less than $ 10m and he was with JPMorgan,” Galperin said. “I told her that we would not hire any savers. Recently six years and he leads our IPO. “

Aguzin has never mentioned his views on HKEX or his distant vision. He used his opening remarks at the London Metal Exchange Asia Summit last week to remind his audience that Argentina is a country known for “wine, beef, football and tango” but when it came to Hong Kong’s position on China’s biggest issue, he mentioned carefully about the “essential part of the city”.

On Friday, in a video released by HKEX, Aguzin said it was “early days” to discuss the process, but said he wanted to expand the exchange while remaining a “strong China”.

“He could have done whatever he wanted and what he wants to do as a stockbroker in Hong Kong tells you a lot about his willingness to risk and make it difficult,” Malka said. “He always had a JPMorgan-type shield, but now it’s him, his job, his face. Taking this job shows that he has a very business mindset. The Argentine man is running things in Asia – it’s a good thing.”

By the end of his first week, those close to Aguzin had begun to address his lack of Mandarin skills: Chinese-speaking colleagues explained that his appointment made his well-known name known. To Chinese speakers, a colleague told him that, Gucho sounds similar to the letters of “managing” the company and “earning” money.

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