“For Li to retire earlier than scheduled may mean that HKEX has already found a potential successor. It may also be because Li has found a new job,” said Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, a lawmaker representing the financial services sector.

Li, a former oilfield worker, journalist and banker, would like to have more time to plan his next career move, according to two sources familiar with his thinking, who said Li has not yet landed another position.

“Good progress has been made on the chief executive search process, and we will update the market when appropriate,” said Laura Cha Shih May-lung, HKEX chairwoman who is heading the selection committee looking for Li’s successor.

Hong Kong’s exchange is keen to find a leader that can develop its role as a venue for Chinese companies to raise capital from international investors. Even as the city reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest, its capital markets are thriving.

Li is best known as the architect of the Connect programme, a series of cross-border investment channels that allow global investors to tap China’s yuan-denominated A shares and bonds, while letting Chinese institutions and individuals invest in shares and financial instruments listed in Hong Kong and London.

More recently, Li spearheaded the biggest reform of Hong Kong’s listing regulations in three decades, when the exchange opened its doors in 2018 to companies with dual-class shareholdings to raise capital. That paved the way for Alibaba Group Holding , owner of this newspaper, to launch a US$12.9 billion secondary listing last November.

The listing reforms also opened the way for pre-revenue pharmaceutical researchers and biotechnology companies to raise funds in Hong Kong. Under a three-year strategic plan unveiled in 2019, HKEX would tap a wider range of financial products to extend its lead over rival exchanges, Li said.

“His replacement needs to understand both China and Hong Kong markets, as well deepen its connections with China market and the rest of the world,” Cheung said.

Tai, aged 58, is currently HKEX’s co-president and chief operating officer and is just two years shy of the exchange’s mandatory retirement age. He joined the Hong Kong Futures Exchange as head of products in 1998, before it merged with the stock exchange and three clearing houses in 2000. He overseas exchange, clearing and risk management of both the securities and derivatives business.

HKEX’s board said it is confident that, under Tai’s leadership, HKEX will deliver on the objectives as set out in the 2019-2021 plan and that Li will remain as a senior adviser for six months to help ensure a smooth transition.

“The [Hong Kong stock] exchange is a tremendous institution with a tremendous cultural heritage. It‘s going to carry on, obviously under a new leadership,” said Li during an August 28 webinar with the South China Morning Post.