Lifelong learner

WHEN he first arrived in Hong Kong on a cargo ship in 1974, he did not even know how to open a bank account. Then, Cheah Cheng Hye was a 20-year-old journalist who had only secondary school education.

But what he lacked in financial knowledge, he more than made up for in his desire to learn and a determination that would take him out of poverty in his hometown of Penang, Malaysia, and into the throes of success he enjoys today in Hong Kong.

Now chairman and co-chief investment officer of one of Asia's largest independent asset managers by market capitalisation - Value Partners also had about US$15 billion in assets under management at the end of April - Mr Cheah says it is not ambition that drives him, but the thrill of being able to pick up something new every day.