What’s New: Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd. surpassed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) to become the most valuable company listed on the Chinese mainland in Tuesday’s trading session, as investors showed strong interest in the liquor maker after it posted solid earnings despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Moutai’s market capitalization rose to nearly 1.8 trillion yuan ($252.9 billion) on Tuesday morning as shares soared, overtaking ICBC, the world’s largest bank by assets, taking the throne as the most valuable of more than 3,800 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, although the company fell back to second place later that day.
On Wednesday, shares of Moutai closed down 0.8% to 1,399.3 yuan, remaining the most expensive stock on the mainland. Its market value came in at about 1.76 trillion yuan, slightly below ICBC’s.
What’s the background: Demand for the luxury liquor produced by Moutai remained strong in the first quarter this year. The company’s net profit rose 16.7% year-on-year to 13.1 billion yuan in the period, according to its latest financial report (link in Chinese). Its revenue rose 12.8% to 24.4 billion yuan.
Moutai shares have long been traded at the highest price among all the companies listed on the mainland, as investors salivate over rosy sales prospects of the liquor brand. A new, 500-milliliter (16.9 fluid ounces) bottle of Feitian Moutai currently sells for 1,499 yuan on major e-commerce platform JD.com. But offline prices generally tend to be higher due to supply shortages.
Related: China Liquor Giant Moutai Posts Profit Gain Despite Virus Lockdowns
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com) and editor Gavin Cross (gavincross@caixin.com)
