Timing it just right

WEE Tiong's director Tan Wee Beng is, to borrow the words of Winston Churchill, a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

The man who loves fast cars - he is eagerly anticipating the arrival of his McLaren 650S - is quick to say that he does not speed on the highways. He is a trader who deals with millions, and yet is a careful investor. He is also the man who walked out of school with an engineering degree, went into the family business which was then a local rice and sugar importer and wholesaler, and turned it into one of the leading physical commodities trading companies in the region.

"I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time," said Mr Tan. "I joined in 2002, and that's when the market started to shift from normal trading - when there wasn't much interest in commodities trading - to the boom which really started in 2004, 2005 ... I think luck is very important."