When Charles Li became chief executive of Hong Kong’s stock exchange a decade ago, it was after fighting off many contenders for the position. As HKEX’s board begins the search to replace its widely respected leader next year, the list of potential candidates is dishearteningly short.

The main requirements have not changed much in the past 10 years. The candidate must be capable of being the quintessential Hong Kong figure — living simultaneously in a Chinese and an international world. Mr Li, a mainlander who previously worked at institutions including JPMorgan China and Merrill Lynch China, personified that mix.

Straddling both worlds is a challenge — more so today than it was nearly 30 years ago, when the H shares of mainland companies first listed in Hong Kong. This month, Beijing’s planned imposition of a national security law has sparked renewed protests in the territory. But for a variety of reasons, the prospects for the exchange itself are brighter today than they might at first seem.