When he was 19, Eng Meng Tsai came up with a new product for his father’s business—crackers made from rice flour, which today is still one of the manufacturer’s top-selling snack items. Tsai moved his production facilities to China in 1992, where the Want Want Group is now largely based, and where its convenience-store products, from flavoured milk drinks to instant noodles, are performing well amidst competition from international megabrands.

Tsai diversified his cracker empire to hotels, insurance, and media, in particular, joining the China Times Media Group in 2008. He owns three newspapers, two TV networks, a magazine, and a publishing house. Tseng suffered a setback in December 2020 when the NCC chose not to renew CTi’s broadcasting license, a decision that forced the network to move into the future with a pivot to digital platforms.

Though the pandemic slowed down plans for global expansion, Want Want’s revenue rose by 9.5 per cent to 22 bilion yuan, sustained by China’s strong GDP, in the 12 months leading up to March 2021.