Malaysia’s newest billionaire started his business empire selling snacks at a roadside stall
99 Speed Mart founder Lee Thiam Wah was minted as a billionaire after his company 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd went public in Kuala Lumpur.
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00:00Malaysia's newest billionaire went from selling snacks at a roadside stall to founding a convenience
00:04store empire with 2,600 locations.
00:07Lee Tiam Wah, the founder and CEO of 99 Speedmart, was minted as a billionaire after his company
00:12went public in Kuala Lumpur.
00:14The $531 million initial public offering is Malaysia's largest in seven years, and the
00:19listing cements Kuala Lumpur as the busiest location for market debuts in Southeast Asia
00:24this year.
00:25Lee Tiam Wah's first retail venture, selling snacks from a roadside stall, was created
00:29out of necessity after he contracted polio as a child and permanently lost the use of
00:33his legs.
00:34The 60-year-old told Forbes in 2012 that nobody would hire me due to my physical limitation.
00:38I have to help myself.
00:40Lee opened his first grocery store in 1987 at just 23 years old, before building what
00:45would become the largest minimart chain in Malaysia with his wife.
00:48The 99 Speedmart chain forms the bulk of Lee's net worth, along with cash collected from
00:53dividends and the share sale.