EWO Brewery

The EWO Brewery Ltd. was established in Shanghai, China in 1935 by Jardine, Matheson & Co. Ltd,[1] one of the largest trading companies in the Far East at that time.

Beer production commenced in 1936, and Ewo Breweries became a public company under Jardines' management in 1940 with Chinese investors buying up 75% of the stock.

[1] The brewery, built in the Yangpu District then on the Eastern outskirts of Shanghai, was commandeered by the Japanese at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)[2] but passed unscathed through the conflict despite its location at the centre of hostilities.

Following the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, new government regulations were introduced the following year which increased taxes, restricted currency exchanges and banned redundancies.

[3] In March 1952, the British consul-general in Shanghai reported that EWO Brewery chairman Robin Gordon had been arrested by the Chinese authorities.