The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) issued its Strategic Plan 2019-2021 on Thursday, which sets out its vision and strategic objectives for the next three years, one day after it announced its annual profit hit a record high.

HKEX's vision is to be the "global markets leader in the Asian time zone," said an HKEX statement.

Already a leading venue for investing into and out of the Chinese mainland, HKEX aims to further increase its international relevance to the mainland and Asia, as well as its Asia relevance to the global markets, serving as the venue of choice for investors and issuers in the Asian time zone, according to the statement.

These strategic initiatives will help boost HKEX's international competitiveness and make Hong Kong even more relevant as a global financial center, the statement said.

"Our strategic plan centers around China, global connectivity, and technology. Its goal of developing a rich product ecosystem that's attractive to both the mainland and international investors while embracing creativity and technological innovation marks a clear vision of our future," HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li said.

The bourse on Wednesday reported that its profit rose 26 percent in 2018 from a year earlier to a record high of 9.31 billion HK dollars (1.19 billion U.S. dollars), mainly boosted by fees from some mega initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first half year.