MTR Corporation (MTR), the city's rail operator, said Wednesday that Chief Executive Officer Chow Chung Kong has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire when his contract expires at the end of 2011.

MTR Chairman Raymond Ch'ien praised Chow's contribution to the company and disclosed that an international search will begin soon to find a new CEO for the company.

"After working for more than 38 years, it is time for me to decelerate and enjoy life," Chow, aged 60, told reporters after announcing his retirement Wednesday.

"Chow is a world-class CEO," Ch'ien said at the press conference. "Working together with the board and his management team he has transformed the company. MTR is now a bigger corporation than when he joined, with significant presence on the mainland and internationally."

Chow joined MTR in December 2003 and led the successful merger of the MTR and KCR in 2007. For the past seven years, he helped to extend the company's business footprint at home and abroad as it established metro lines in Beijing and Shenzhen - and also as far as London, Stockholm, and Melbourne where it won contracts to operate urban rail networks - the MTR said in a statement.

"Under the leadership of Chow, the market capitalization of MTR has doubled. When Chow joined the company in 2003, the market capitalization of MTR stood at HK$54 billion. As of the end of November in 2010, MTR's capitalization has swelled to HK$165 billion," Ch'ien said.

A financial analyst told China Daily that Chow's departure will not affect its daily business operations.

"The railway and real estate developer business of MTR will remain stable," BMI Fund Management Director Patrick Shum told China Daily.

China Daily

(HK Edition 12/30/2010 page3)