HONG KONG (SCMP): When Cheah Cheng Hye left his hometown of Penang in northern Malaysia in 1974 for a higher paying job with The Standard newspaper in Hong Kong, his plan was to stay a few years until he saved enough money to buy his family a house.
Unable to afford a flight, Cheah – 20 at the time – travelled to Hong Kong on a cargo ship. These days he is the proud owner of a BMW with a special licence plate that reads “Penang”. He is also the founder of one of Asia’s largest independent asset management firms, Value Partners.