Ranking 15th on the list is Bonnie Y. Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. She took charge of the exchange when it was starting to regain its standing on the global stage.
Hong Kong has returned to the top of the IPO rankings, raising HKD286 billion ($37 billion) across 119 listings in 2025, three times the amount recorded in 2024.
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Malina Ngai (L), CEO of AS Watson, and Bonnie Y. Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. Photos courtesy of AS Watson, HKEX |
Chan and HKEX are now pursuing a deliberate strategy to position Hong Kong as a superconnector, linking Chinese companies with global investors seeking to diversify their portfolios through exposure to China’s growth and innovation.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing reported record revenue of HKD29.2 billion ($3.7 billion) last year, up 30%, along with profit of HKD17.8 billion ($2.3 billion).
At the 20th place is Malina Ngai, a former competitive rower for the city of Hong Kong, who leads the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer AS Watson with 17,000 stores across 31 markets.
Since becoming group CEO in 2024, Ngai has accelerated the company’s push into “O+O retail,” combining physical stores with digital platforms to deliver a unified customer experience.
AS Watson, the retail arm of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison, reported revenue of HKD209 billion ($26 billion) last year, up 10%.
Ngai is now seeking to invest an additional $490 million to open 1,000 new stores while upgrading AS Watson’s technology and supply-chain infrastructure.
CK Hutchison is reportedly weighing a listing of AS Watson on both the Hong Kong and London stock exchanges.
Speaking at a Fortune conference in Kuala Lumpur last year, Ngai said she often thinks about how AS Watson’s founder, Alexander Skirving Watson, would view the company 185 years after its launch: “I believe that he’d be positively surprised that [we’ve gone] from one store to 17,000 stores.”
Fortune said this year’s Most Powerful Women list includes leaders of some of the world’s largest companies, including firms on the Fortune 500 and Global 500 lists.
The annual ranking, now in its 29th year includes 100 women from the corporate sector. Together, they lead 94 companies that employ 11.8 million people and generate $7.3 trillion in annual revenue. They also hold 180 board seats across 20 countries and territories.
Jane Fraser, chair and CEO of Citigroup, topped this year’s list. Fraser, who is five years into her tenure at the helm of the banking group, made history in 2021 when she became the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank.
