Frank Tsao, who went from civil war migrant to towering pioneer of Asian shipping, dies aged 94

Frank Tsao Wen-king started his business empire in 1949 with a solitary coal-burning ship and built it into a multi-sector industrial conglomerate.

Frank Tsao Wen-king, the Shanghai-born entrepreneur who fled to Hong Kong amid the turmoil of the Chinese civil war and went on to build one of Asia’s biggest shipping empires, has died aged 94.

Tsao, who held Malaysian citizenship and was made an honorary citizen of Singapore, died peacefully in the Lion City on Monday, his family said in a statement sent to This Week in Asia.