David Webb, the renowned activist investor of Hong Kong, is set to close down his influential website, Webb-site.com, at the end of October 31st. The site, which he founded in 1998, has been a cornerstone of his decades-long crusade to advocate for greater transparency and improved corporate governance within the city's financial markets. The decision stems from the 60-year-old Briton's declining health, as he is battling prostate cancer, making it impossible for him to renew the dedicated server contract.

Throughout his extensive career in Hong Kong, Webb has been both a vocal critic and a shrewd beneficiary of the city's unique business landscape. He has consistently championed the cause of freer markets, often attributing his impressive annualized stock market gains of 20% between 1995 and 2019 to what he perceived as weak corporate governance and lax regulatory oversight. His analytical prowess was underpinned by the comprehensive database he meticulously built over the years, which tracked everything from corporate filings to the intricacies of Hong Kong’s statutory and advisory bodies.

Among his most notable activist successes was the uncovering of "The Enigma Network" in 2017. This network comprised 50 firms that Webb identified as having common ownership and artificially inflated share prices. His exposé led to the swift collapse of many of these companies' shares and triggered the largest investigation ever undertaken by Hong Kong’s financial regulator, marking a significant victory for market integrity.

Despite the impending closure of Webb-site.com, Webb has expressed his commitment to ensuring that his work continues to be accessible. He plans to upload weekly dumps of the database to a Google Drive repository for as long as his health permits, expressing hope that "public-spirited individuals and organizations" will utilize and perhaps even publish their own iterations of his valuable data. In a testament to his enduring passion, Webb also announced plans to launch a Substack site, where he intends to occasionally share his views on critical issues until he is no longer able. He reflected on his life's work, stating that after his loving family, running Webb-site.com and campaigning for public interest in corporate and economic governance since 1998 has been the "joy of my life."

Webb, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1991 with Barclays Plc before transitioning to managing his own finances, publicly bid farewell to the city in May during an hour-long conversation with veteran journalist Philip Bowring at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, speaking to a packed audience about his life and perspectives.