HONG KONG (AP) — David Webb, one of Hong Kong ’s most vocal shareholder activists who advocated for greater corporate transparency and investor rights for decades, has died at 60.
Webb, an investment banker turned activist, was well-known and widely respected in the business and financial circles in the Asia financial hub — in part for his persistent push for better corporate governance of listed Hong Kong companies and the uncovering of significant corporate malpractices.
“It is with great sadness that we share that David M. Webb MBE passed away peacefully in Hong Kong on Tuesday January 13th, 2026 from metastatic prostate cancer,” a statement on his social media Tuesday said. “David will be missed by his family, his many friends, and his supporters."
His free-to-access database, Webb-site.com, for years provided a trove of company statistics and data for journalists, shareholders, financial analysts and lawyers. Founded in 1998, the nonprofit platform helped protect the rights of many minority shareholders and pushed stakeholders in moving toward greater corporate transparency.
One of his most remarkable actions came in 2017, when he exposed dozens of companies in Hong Kong under the “Enigma Network” and advised investors not to own those stocks. He uncovered previously undisclosed ties and cross-shareholdings across the companies, which subsequently led to a criminal investigation.
Last year, Webb was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his work in raising corporate governance standards in Hong Kong.
Born in London in 1965, Webb was working for Barclays when he was sent to Hong Kong in the 1990s, and had stayed in the city since. He was an independent director of the board of Hong Kong’s stock exchange from 2003 to 2008, when he resigned and accused the bourse of poor management.
Webb first disclosed publicly that he was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in 2020, and had said he hoped to live beyond the age of 60. He turned 60 in August.
Webb was also vocal about changes in Hong Kong’s political scene in recent years, including noting last year what he called excess self-censorship among opinion writers after a sweeping national security law was imposed by Beijing onto the territory in 2020 in the wake of citywide pro-democracy protests.
At a farewell event for him at the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club in May last year, Webb said his activism had been emotionally rewarding.
“However long or short my life, unfortunately, it’s shorter than I expected,” he said. “I will die confident that I did my best and Hong Kong is my home.”
Kenneth Leung, a former lawmaker who had debated policy with Webb on radio programs, praised the activist as sharp-minded and knowledgeable. Leung said that while Webb was a headache to some companies because of his work, he was a person with a great sense of social responsibility.
“He did a lot for Hong Kong’s small investors,” Leung told The Associated Press.
FILE - David Webb, a corporate governance activist poses for a photo after an interview with The Associated Press in Hong Kong, Tuesday, March 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
