Shares in Kweichow Moutai Co. , which at the start of 2020 was already the world’s biggest alcoholic-drinks company by market capitalization, have gained 56%, valuing it at about $354 billion as of Monday. That means not only does the state-owned enterprise tower over Western rivals like Diageo PLC, and brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, but it is also bigger than Coca-Cola Co. , LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE or Toyota Motor Corp.
Rival Wuliangye Yibin Co.’s share price has more than doubled, for a market cap of $167 billion. An index of 36 drinks companies whose shares trade in Shanghai or Shenzhen rallied 86.7% this year, compared with a 23% increase in China’s CSI 300 benchmark, according to Wind. The index also includes beer companies, but the most valuable players are mostly distillers who specialize in baijiu, a fiery Chinese spirit made by fermenting sorghum or other grains.