(Bloomberg) -- Paul Chow, former chief executive officer of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. who brought mainland Chinese companies to list in the territory, has died. He was 76.

He died at a Hong Kong hospital Thursday night, according to local media reports, which cited organ failure as the cause.

Chow oversaw the first Chinese enterprise to list its H shares on the exchange — Tsingtao Brewery — in 1993. Mainland companies now make up about 80% of the city’s total market capitalization.

He led the bourse from 1992 to 1997, and again from 2003 to 2010. The stock and futures exchanges and their clearing houses were merged to create the HKEX in 2000. 

In between the two stints at HKEX, he was chief executive of HSBC Asset Management Hong Kong. After leaving the exchange, he became chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Co., helping to grow technology startups until 2016.

“He is a generous man with a passion for serving the community and he has served on many related professional and advisory bodies, university councils and public interest groups,” the city’s financial secretary Paul Chan said in a statement. “I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.