The company was founded in Ilha Verde (meaning "green island") in Macau in 1886 with British investment[2] and was the first manufacturer of Portland cement in the region, with lime kilns that burned locally dredged coral and imported limestone.[3] A second factory was established in Hung Hom in 1898, as Britain took control of the New Territories, under the Second Convention of Peking.[4]
The availability of inexpensive cement was a boon to the development of the area that followed, and further provided a useful export capacity, such as of encaustic glazed floor tiles.[4]
The firm relocated to Hok Un, Hong Kong in 1925 and became a British company shortly afterward.[5][6] The company was a major employer for many decades.[3][7]
In 1978, Li Ka-shing held a low-key 25% stake in Qingzhou Yingni. The following year, he increased his holding to 40% and became the chairman of Qingzhou Yingni. Until October 1988, Cheung Kong Holdings announced a comprehensive acquisition at a price of 20 yuan per share to privatize Qingzhou Yingni. At that time, Cheung Kong Holdings held 44.6% of the shares, and the purchase price was a 13% premium to the market price of 17.7 yuan, involving 1.123 billion Hong Kong dollars. By the end of the acquisition on December 30 of the same year, Cheung Kong Holdings had purchased 95% of the equity and completed the privatization and delisting through compulsory acquisition. After the transaction, Cheung Kong Holdings acquired a large piece of land owned by Qingzhou Yingni at its factory in Hung Hom, Kowloon for future real estate development.