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Martin Choi

Oyster sauce tycoon Lee Man-tat, chairman of Lee Kum Kee Group, has died. He was 91.
The company said in a statement that Lee died on Monday, surrounded by family members.
“Mr. Lee was an inspirational leader with a unique and forward-looking vision. He constantly brought new insight and momentum to the group and successfully transformed Lee Kum Kee into a world-renowned sauce and condiment brand,” the statement added.
Lee, whose wealth propelled him to as high as third on the Forbes list of Hong Kong’s richest tycoons in 2019, was born in Macau. However, his family hailed from Xinhui in Jiangmen, Guangdong province.




The tycoon was honoured with DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Lee Man-tat and extended her condolences to his family. Lee was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong government in 2018 for his charitable services and voluntary work.
“Mr Lee was a successful businessman and outstanding industrialist with distinguished achievements,” Lam said. “He developed the business inherited from his family into a Chinese sauce empire that has become a household name, with products being sold around the world.”
He joined Lee Kum Kee in 1954 to assist his father Lee Shiu-nan run the family business. The company was started by his grandfather Lee Kum-sheung in 1888, who developed his signature oyster sauce in Zhuhai.
The company has since become a specialist in cooking ingredients, with more than 200 types of sauces in its condiments portfolio, selling them in more than 100 countries.
Lee Kum Kee’s oyster sauce is the company’s best known product, which propelled the group’s growth and made it into one of Hong Kong’s best known brands. The company later diversified into health products, property investments, plantations and trading.

Lee was the third generation of the family to run the business, and it is at this point that he should have lost everything, as according to the Chinese adage “wealth does not go beyond the third generation”.
Lee took over the business in the early 1970s, buying out his uncles with his father’s support, to take control of the business ahead of a planned expansion into the US market.
In the mid-1980s, Lee wanted to expand the company’s production base, but was opposed by his own brother. This time he bought out his brother’s share in the company to go ahead with the plan.
The history of Lee Kum Kee’s oyster sauce
In 2002, Lee’s children presented their father with a plan to create a family council and a family constitution to govern the way the family ran the business and interacted.
Perhaps stung by the public family disputes of earlier years, Lee voluntarily agreed to the arrangement, which weakened his control over the family and the business. It was a rare move for a Hong Kong tycoon.
His children and now grandchildren have all joined the company, working in a more democratic style of corporate governance, which seems to have borne fruit.


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Obituaries

Lee Man-tat, head of Lee Kum Kee sauce empire, dies at 91

Lee Man-tat, chairman of Lee Kum Kee, died on Monday. Photo: SCMP

Lee Kum Kee premium oyster sauce in different packages at Lee Kum Kee in Tai Po. 24JAN18 [FEATURES SUNDAY MAGAZINE] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce dynasty flies up Forbes Hong Kong rich list but can’t touch Li Ka-shing’s fortune

(left to right): Pollyanna Chu Yuet-wah, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Kingston Financial Group Limited; and her husband Nicholas Chu Yuk-yui, Chairman and Executive Director of Kingston Financial Group Limited, speak to the media during the Kingston Financial Group 25th anniversary, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. 07JUN18 SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

The Lee family’s wealth gained US$8.6 billion to reach US$17.1 billion, lifting them out of 11th place a year ago. Chairman Lee Man-tat is pictured centre. Photo: Chen Xiaomei

Made in Hong Kong: the history of Lee Kum Kee’s oyster sauce – so good it is served in space

Lee Kum Kee’s premium line of oyster sauce. Picture: Xiaomei Chen

Exterior view of Lee Kum Kee in Tai Po. 24JAN18 [FEATURES SUNDAY MAGAZINE] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Francis Chan Yiu-chung, Lee Kum Kee Chief Sales and Marketing Officer photographed at Lee Kum Kee in Tai Po. 24JAN18 [FEATURES SUNDAY MAGAZINE] SCMP / Xiaomei Chen

Jiangmen, a Greater Bay Area laggard, counts casino tycoon, ex-NBA star and Hong Kong movie icons as investors, benefactors

A scene in Pengjiang district, Jiangmen city, part of the Greater Bay Area plan in China. Photo: Shutterstock Images

greater bay area cities at a glance data as at the end of 2019 area (sq km) gdp (US$b) population (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 hong kong macau guangzhou shenzhen zhuhai foshan jiangmen zhaoqing huizhou dongguan zhongshan 1107 361 735 33 54 0.7 7434 337 15 2050 384 13 1736 49 2 3875 154 8.2 9507 45 4.1 15056 32 4.1 11347 60 4.8 2465 135 8.3 1784 44 3.1 total 56394 1655 70.8 source: china national bureau of statistics scmp

Lui Che-Woo, chairman and founder of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd., poses for a photograph in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, May 28, 2018. Galaxy†is content with staying as a minority shareholder in†Wynn Resorts Ltd.,†according to the Chinese companyís billionaire founder, who sought to temper speculation of a deeper tie-up between two of Macauís biggest gaming operators. Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam (front row, second right), tours the Lee Kum Kee Group production base in Xinhui, Jiangmen today (May 18) to learn more about the business development and operation of the enterprise. Accompanying her is the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip (back row, second right). 18MAY19 SCMP Pictures (HANDOUT from ISD)

China's Yi Jianlian holds the ball during the Basketball World Cup Group A game between Ivory Coast and China in Beijing on August 31, 2019. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)

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Lee Man-tat was ranked third on the Forbes list of Hong Kong’s richest tycoons in 2019
Tycoon was honoured with DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018



Lee Man-tat is credited with turning Lee Kum Kee into a household name in Hong Kong, with the company’s products now sold in more than 100 countries worldwide.


Food and Drinks

Stories behind top Asian brands

Stories behind top Hong Kong brands

Lee Man-tat, head of Lee Kum Kee sauce empire, dies at 91

Lee Man-tat was ranked third on the Forbes list of Hong Kong’s richest tycoons in 2019 Tycoon was honoured with DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018

Lee Man-tat was ranked third on the Forbes list of Hong Kong’s richest tycoons in 2019

Tycoon was honoured with DHL-SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018