Vincent Cheng Hoi-Chuen GBS

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

JP (, 16 July 1948 – 28 August 2022) was a Hong Kong banker who was

HSBC Holdings plc HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tril ...

. He was also chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, the Asia-Pacific branch of HSBC and founding member of the group, from 2005 to 2010.

Early years and education

Cheng grew up in a poor family of six, despite difficult circumstances and having been crippled by

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

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 (CUHK) and a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

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. He took up the post of general manager in June 1995 and then the first ethnic 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 David Gordon Eldon CBE (, born 1945) is former chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. He retired in May 2005, after spending 37 years with HSBC Group, but remains actively engaged in banking and business life. Career ...

. He also became the managing director of HSBC Group and the Director of

HSBC Bank Australia Limited HSBC Bank Australia Limited (formerly the HongkongBank of Australia Limited) is the Australian subsidiary of HSBC. The bank offers a wide range of financial services in Australia through a network of 36 branches and offices. These services inc ...

. On 1 April 2007, he became Chairman of the

HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited (; often abbreviated as ) was one of the first foreign banks to incorporate locally in mainland China in 2007. It is part of the worldwide HSBC Group and is wholly owned by Hong Kong-based The Hongkong and Shan ...

. He has also been appointed the first ethnic Chinese Executive Director of HSBC Holdings on 1 February 2008. In January 2008, he was appointed a member of the National Committee of the 11th

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(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 Hong Kong Affairs Advisers () were appointed by the Chinese government after the last Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten carried out his electoral reform in the British Hong Kong, in the eve of the handover of the sovereignty of the city-state fr ...

to the People's Republic of China from 1994 to 1997. He was also a Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1991 to 1995. His public service duties included 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 The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is Hong Kong's central bank, central banking institution. It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 when the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking merged. Th ...

. He was also Honorary President of the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation. Cheng had been appointed the

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) (1994), and

Gold Bauhinia Star The Gold Bauhinia Star (, GBS) is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of ...

(GBS) (2005).

Death

Cheng died on the night of 28 August 2022, aged 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Vincent 1948 births 2022 deaths Hong Kong bankers Hong Kong chief executives Alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong University of Auckland alumni HSBC people Hang Seng Bank Officers of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong financial businesspeople Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong HK LegCo Members 1991–1995 Members of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Selection Committee of Hong Kong District councillors of Yuen Long District Honorary Fellows of the London School of Economics Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star