AS ONE of the territory's most charming and witty businessmen, it is not the first time the ever-smiling Lee Ming Tee has stood centre stage. This time, however, Mr Lee might be willing to gladly pass the limelight to his fellow tycoons.
The man whose group is now the subject of one of Hong Kong's most complicated financial investigations has had a relatively comfortable journey to the highest echelons of the corporate business community.
He was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1939 and graduated from Sydney University with a degree in engineering.
A profile published by Asian Finance says Mr Lee worked for a few years for oil companies before striking it rich as chief executive of a Malaysian company, LYL, developing rubber plantations into housing estates to satisfy the demand of a rapidly expanding Malaysian middle-class.
While still relatively young, Mr Lee decided to change his professional direction, selling everything and putting tens of millions of dollars into US Treasury bonds. At that stage, Mr Lee seriously contemplated early retirement.
However, he returned to the business world to help a friend who was running an Australian parking station company.