Gregory Cheng, CEO of Hong Kong-based rice exporter Techvalue International, is always on the lookout for new business opportunities.

Rising concerns over food security are squeezing rice traders, such as Techvalue, who are already operating in a low-margin business.

In response, Mr Cheng has started repurposing by-products from his rice mill in Vietnam, such as rice bran and paddy straw, to diversify into higher-value areas. These include wellness products, biodegradable packaging and additives for fish feed.

His latest venture – ready-made meals that can be prepared in hot or cold water – could unlock another lucrative revenue stream.

These innovative dishes, branded Babio, rely on a proprietary rice processing technique that cuts down on preparation time, while retaining rice’s essential texture and flavour.

Techvalue’s CEO believes that they offer a tasty, nutritious and cost-effective alternative to instant noodles – a huge global market with more than 120 billion servings every year – and other easy-to-cook rice products, such as parboiled rice, puffed rice and rice-based microwave meals.

He has already signed his first licensing and distribution deal for Babio with an Australian company, Gryph Holdings, who he invited last year to the Asian Financial Forum (AFF).

AFF is a major business and finance event held every January by the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), which brings together key voices in the world of finance and business to Hong Kong for insight sharing, networking and deal-making.

The conversation started after Mr Cheng, who was looking for partners to help commercialise his innovative processing technique, participated in AFF’s project investment and deal-making sessions.

After initially focusing on plain rice, the two companies decided to expand their collaboration to include pre-prepared meals. They both returned to AFF in 2026, where they signed an MoU covering Australia and the Pacific Islands.

This collaboration was facilitated by HKTDC’s office in Sydney. Our Australia branch office has been supporting the Hong Kong rice distributor via a range of services, including advisory and connection-building, ever since Mr Cheng contacted them in 2021 to help grow his business in the region.

Dishes designed for local tastes

Techvalue and Gryph are targeting a September launch for their debut product, a vegan chicken curry, in Papua New Guinea, a market where the Australian distributor already sells rice and instant noodles.

With an eye on continued international expansion, Mr Cheng is also working on additional recipes catering to palates across Asia and Oceania, including red curry duck, beef rendang, barbecued pork, mapo tofu and furikake.

These dishes will combine Techvalue’s processed rice with ingredients that can be easily sourced locally.

“Cuisines are very localised,” Mr Cheng notes. “It is very hard for us to find popular meals with the same taste all over the world. To maximise growth, we also need finance and distribution partners for each market.”

At the same time, he is also eyeing opportunities in emergency supplies and disaster relief, emphasising the long shelf life of his processed rice, as well as its ability to be prepared in cold water.

Discussions for his survival rice are currently underway with potential partners in China and Australia.

He is optimistic about the overall uptake for his latest products. Interest in easy-to-cook rice is rising, as people lead busier lives and more young people live by themselves.

“We plan to sell rice to nearly all countries, starting with the Pacific Islands and ASEAN countries,” he says.

“Any country that produces rice is a good target. We can also set up manufacturing where the raw materials are available.”