Kuala Lumpur, 2 October 2002 - Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, former Assistant Governor at Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), has been appointed as Chairman of the Exchange Committee of the Labuan International Financial Exchange (LFX).

The appointment, which is for a two-year term effective 16 September 2002, was approved by the Minister of Finance in accordance with the provisions of the Labuan Offshore Securities Industry Act 1998 (LOSIA).

Dr Awang takes over from the first Chairman of the Exchange Committee, Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah, whose term expired on 15 September 2002.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Awang said, "I am thankful for the confidence that the Minister of Finance has in appointing me to this position. I hope that with my experience in the private sector and as a regulator previously, both onshore and offshore, I will be able to contribute towards further developing LFX".

Dr Awang joined BNM in 1985 and served in several positions before becoming an Assistant Governor in January 1996 and was seconded to LOFSA as its first Director-General from 1996 - 1998. Besides his appointment in Bank Negara and LOFSA, he also served on various committees. He was a Commissioner of the Securities Commission from1999 to 2001 and a member of the Labuan Development Authority from 1997 to 1999, and a member of the Danaharta Oversight Committee from 1999 to 2001. He left BNM in 2001 to join the private sector.

Dr Awang is currently the Chairman of the Royal Mint Exchange and Newfields Advisors Sdn Bhd and a board member of several companies and organisations including Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings Bhd, Ya Horng Electronics Malaysia Bhd, LFX and Universiti Tenaga Nasional.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of LFX, Dato' Mohd Azlan Hashim welcomed the appointment of Datuk Dr Awang Adek given his extensive experience not only as an exchange regulator but as someone very familiar with Labuan.

"I hope that LFX will be able to tap on the extensive experience and knowledge of Datuk Dr. Awang Adek as the new Exchange Committee Chairman and hope that, together with other members of the Committee, will work towards developing LFX into Asia's premier offshore financial exchange", Mohd Azlan said.

Under the provisions of the LOSIA, the affairs of the exchange shall be managed by a committee.

Apart from the newly appointed Chairman, there are currently 9 other members on the LFX Exchange Committee, comprised of :

En Abdul Jabbar Abdul Majid, Executive Chairman - Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
En Abdul Kadir Hj Md Kassim, Committee Member - Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange
En Md Nor Ahmad, Deputy President - Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange
En Mohd Nasir Ali, Group Executive Director - Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd
Prof. Madya Dr Mohd Daud Bakar, Dean, Centre for Post Graduate Studies - International Islamic University of Malaysia
Mr Raymond Wong, Chairman - Association of Labuan Trust Companies
Mr Louise Paul, Chairman - Associations of Offshore Banks
Mr Jeremy C. Camps, Chairman - Labuan International Insurance Association and
En Vaseehar Hassan, Chief Executive/Director - Dallah Albaraka (M) Holdings Sdn Bhd.