By Andy Young
China's premium baijiu maker, Kweichow Moutai is closing in on Diageo to become the world's most valuable liquor company according to figures from the Financial Times.
A recent increase in the Moutai share price has seen the company cement its place as the second-most valuable liquor company, with a capitalisation value of US$60.5 billion. The newspaper lists Diageo's value as being US$65 billion.
The two drinks giants are way ahead of the competition, with Constellation Brands being worth US$30.8 billion and Pernod Ricard standing at US28.7bn.
Moutai is a hugely popular drink in China and the brand initially suffered as part of Chinese President Xi's anti-corruption campaign and crackdown on excessiveness by government officials. However, the company reported a 19 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue in 2016 and a seven per cent increase in net profit. Those figures helped drive up the share price, giving Moutai its strong value.
Last year TheShout reported that leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, Brand Finance, revealed that Moutai was the world's most valuable liquor brand. The Moutai brand valuation of US$5.7 billion saw it ranked 243rd in the world's 500 most valuable brand. Johnnie Walker was ranked third at US4.6bn, with the world's second most valuable liquor brand being Bud Light, worth US4.9bn.