Beijing-favoured Carrie Lam has been elected as the new chief executive of Hong Kong, making her the region's first female leader.

Lam, Hong Kong's former chief secretary, was believed to have won the election by securing 777 votes out of 1,194 votes cast by the region's committee.

The election committee is appointed by Beijing and is suppose to represent a broad spectrum of Hong Kong's society, although this system has been criticised for being unrepresentative of the 7.3 million residents.

Lam's election was met by immediate protest outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today where voting took place.

According to Reuters, representatives of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement including student activist Joshua Wong, local legislators Leung 'Long Hair' Kwok-hung and Hong Kong's youngest legislator Nathan Law led the group chanting: "We want universal suffrage."

Lam, 59, was formerly Hong Kong's No 2 official.

According to media reports, Hong Kong's residents largely favour former financial secretary John Tsang for the top job. He came in second with 365 votes.

The outgoing chief executive Leung Chun-ying is a hugely unpopular figure in the city, due to his pro-Beijing policies.