Malaysia produced one of Asia's greatest investors most Malaysians have never heard of him.

Malaysia produced one of Asia’s greatest investors.

Most Malaysians have never heard of him.

Cheah Cheng Hye started as a journalist before co-founding Value Partners in Hong Kong in 1993.

Its flagship fund went on to return more than 3,500%, compared with just over 700% for the Hang Seng Index over the same period.

Today, Forbes estimates he is worth over US$1.2 billion.

A reminder that extraordinary careers do not always begin with the obvious qualifications.

Sometimes they begin with learning how to understand businesses better than everyone else.