The EWO Brewery Ltd. was established in Shanghai, China in 1935 by Jardine, Matheson & Co. Ltd, 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. 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) but passed unscathed through the conflict despite its location at the centre of hostilities.