The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will reshuffle the roles of two deputy chief executives next month as part of the de facto central bank’s succession planning strategy, two sources with knowledge of the matter told the South China Morning Post.

Darryl Chan Wai-man will take over as CEO of HKMA’s Exchange Fund Investment Office from November 9, where he will manage the HK$4.46 trillion (US$568 billion) Exchange Fund – the war chest used to defend Hong Kong’s local currency, according to one source.

Chan would replace fellow HKMA deputy chief executive Howard Lee Tat-chi in the position, with Lee assuming Chan’s current role in monetary management on the same date, the source said.

This type of reorganisation is normal practice within HKMA, with the institution using it as a way to help train its next generation of leaders, according to the source.

“By reshuffling roles between the senior executives, it would help them to be exposed to more different areas of knowledge and to establish different contacts, which would be useful to train them up to take up more senior roles in future,” the source said.

A spokeswoman for HKMA declined to comment on individual appointments, but said the authority reorganised roles from time to time.

“The organisation and division of labour of the HKMA would be arranged according to the needs of the operations and development,” the spokeswoman said. “HKMA would review the organisation and human resources regularly to make proper adjustments and arrangements according to the development and operational needs of the authority.”The Exchange Fund, which dates back to 1935, is the reserve used to back banknote issuance in the city and defend the Hong Kong dollar against speculative attacks.

The fund is managed by HKMA’s Exchange Fund Investment Office, which invests the capital in Hong Kong equities and overseas stocks, global bonds, global real estate and other long-term projects. The Hong Kong government is also keen to add in gold investment.

Under Lee’s leadership, the reserve posted record full-year earnings of HK$337.4 billion in 2025, a 54 per cent jump year on year and the best annual gain recorded since the HKMA was set up in 1993.

Chan, formerly a civil servant, joined HKMA in 2013 as an external executive director and was appointed deputy chief executive of the institution on November 1, 2022. Lee, who was also a civil servant, joined HKMA in 2009 as division head and was appointed as deputy chief executive in 2018.

HKMA also reshuffled the roles of a number of middle managers in May and June, with Kenneth Hui moving from an external executive director to a role in banking conduct. He replaced Alan Au, who was reassigned to become executive director of risk and compliance and chief risk officer of the Exchange Fund Investment Office.

Au took the role of Grace Lau, who in turn moved to become executive director of corporate services. Her predecessor there, Archie Ng, shifted to a monetary management role.

Another source said all these reshuffles were part of a succession planning strategy aimed at training up HKMA’s future leadership, as the current top team had reached the retirement age of 60.

HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-ma turned 62 in September, and his current term expires in 2029.

Lee was appointed for a two-year term starting in October after reaching the normal retirement age, with his current term to expire next year. Another HKMA deputy chief executive, Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, has been renewed twice for two-year terms beyond the retirement age, with his current term due to expire in 2028.