A Crusader in Hong Kong

He's intense, sometimes acerbic, and has a hard time with small talk. "He gets up people's noses," says a leading fund manager in Hong Kong. And even David Webb's friends joke that he's something of a nerd.

But there's no question that the slightly built British native is a menace to business as usual at Hong Kong's clubby stock exchange. Like a poacher-turned-gamekeeper, the 37-year-old former investment banker knows the tricks of the financial trade as only an insider can. And in the five years since he left banking to invest for his own account, Webb has almost single-handedly changed the terms of the corporate governance debate in Hong Kong. To boost returns on his investments and put a spotlight on Corporate Hong Kong, Webb has publicized all the fudged numbers and sleights of hand he finds in the accounts of city companies. Webb's triumphs are chronicled online at Webb-site.com, which boasts 8,500 subscribers. "The Internet has democratized publishing," says Webb. "Before, I had to write letters to newspapers."