Category: Company News

On February 1st, Ding Xiongjun, the Chairman of Moutai Group, accompanied by a group of executives, visited Lang Liquor Group and met with its Chairman, Wang Junlin. Also present were Zhang Deqin, the Chairman of Xi Liquor Group, and his team of executives.

The gathering of the leaders of the three major Chinese soy sauce liquor companies, Moutai, Xi Liquor, and Lang Liquor, before the Spring Festival, has attracted widespread attention within the industry. Although it was a traditional meeting in line with previous Spring Festival customs, every move made by these three liquor companies, all located within a 50-kilometer radius along the Chishui River in Guizhou, carries significant weight. Together, they generate a revenue of over 200 billion yuan, covering more than 90% of the total domestic soy sauce liquor production.

What did these three liquor industry giants discuss during their meeting?

The day before the gathering, Moutai announced its performance for 2023: an annual operating income of 164.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%; and a total profit of 108.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%.

These were impressive figures. Following the release of the financial report, Ding Xiongjun’s mood as he headed to Lang Liquor’s gathering should have been pleasant.

During the meeting, Ding Xiongjun, Wang Junlin, and Zhang Deqin all mentioned a key term: “internationalization.” In their commitment to collectively explore overseas markets for soy sauce liquor and step onto the international stage, the three “brothers” of soy sauce liquor reached a consensus.

In fact, despite Chinese liquor’s decades-long foray into international markets, the achievements have been deemed insignificant by outsiders.

Looking at the data from listed liquor companies in 2022, only Moutai has notable overseas business operations. Apart from Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao, most other listed liquor companies have yet to exceed a billion yuan in overseas revenue.

With the new year upon us, the focus for soy sauce liquor is on Moutai’s overseas initiatives.

In fact, Ding Xiongjun has already taken action.

Recently, news about Moutai’s plan to open up some overseas distribution rights has caused a stir in the market. This is because, currently in China, obtaining Moutai distribution rights is as difficult as ascending to the heavens, while overseas distribution rights might present a new opportunity. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, overseas distributors hold the resources for exporting Feitian Moutai.

According to the third-quarter report of 2023, Moutai currently has 106 distributors overseas, which is about 1/20 of the number of domestic distributors.

However, subsequently, insiders revealed that Moutai did not open up overseas distribution rights to the general public but only to some domestic Moutai distributors with overseas resources, allowing them to submit intentions to open Moutai specialty stores overseas.

Why limit it to internal distributors and not open it to the public?

Regarding this, Xiao Zhuqing, Chairman of Wuhan Jingkui Technology Co., Ltd., pointed out that Moutai’s business wisdom includes a vital element called “starvation marketing.” Currently, overseas agents are not increasing in number, nor are there more signatories. Because the quota is extremely limited, existing domestic and overseas Moutai agents treasure their positions. Moutai utilizes the loyalty of its existing agents to ensure the credibility of its export business.

Therefore, the current approach of Moutai is to encourage domestic distributors to expand into international markets rather than opening up to social forces to operate in the international market. Moutai Group has entrusted Ogilvy International Advertising Company to formulate an international brand communication strategy.

In response to this, a source close to Moutai informed “Chinese Entrepreneur” magazine that Moutai will adopt a “tailored approach for each country” in its future international expansion, and relevant strategies are currently being developed.

Nevertheless, there are still concerns from the outside world. Can Moutai establish itself in the overseas market solely relying on its existing internal forces? Currently, there is a “stereotype” about Chinese liquor going overseas – it’s difficult for Chinese liquor to succeed abroad. So, how will Ding Xiongjun, at the age of 50, tackle this tough challenge?

“Voyage to the Sea”

Yun Weilong, a Moutai distributor in Singapore, has been operating a Moutai specialty store since 2006. He told “Chinese Entrepreneur” magazine that in the early 1990s, Moutai had already entered the Singapore market, but back then, there were not many consumers who were aware of and purchased Moutai liquor. As trade and personnel exchanges between China and Singapore became more frequent, scenes of people drinking Moutai started appearing in the Singapore market.

He stated that over the past 20 years, Moutai liquor in Singapore has transformed from being overlooked to now being in short supply, which has been a challenging growth process. Through continuous local promotion in Singapore, Moutai liquor is now well-known among local consumers. “In addition to customers in the catering industry, more are from Chinese and local companies,” Yun Weilong said.

A Moutai distributor in Vietnam also told “Chinese Entrepreneur” magazine that their core consumer group mostly consists of local Chinese, joint venture companies, and local middle-to-high-income individuals.

In the local market, Feitian Moutai is the bestseller. On one hand, Feitian is their key target for promotion and marketing; on the other hand, due to Vietnam’s proximity to China and the close economic and trade relations between China and Vietnam, most high-end business white liquors used are Feitian Moutai, influenced by the Chinese atmosphere.

However, the market is gradually changing.

Yun Weilong said that five years ago, when local people heard “Chinese liquor,” they thought of cooking rice wine or sorghum liquor used in the kitchen. Now, when young locals are told about white liquor, they proudly boast of knowing Moutai liquor.

In 2017, judging from the purchasing clients of Moutai, he found that about 70% were new Chinese immigrants or Chinese guests, and about 30% were local Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, and others. From the purchasing records of the past two years, he found that Chinese customers accounted for about 40%, while the remaining 60% were mostly local Chinese companies and individuals, with a small number of Indian customers and some non-Chinese and Indian customers engaged in the bar business.

For the scarce Feitian Moutai liquor in China, in addition to breaking into the Chinese community and facing localization challenges, another difficulty lies in price arbitrage, as the Moutai liquor sold abroad may “flow back” into China.

In the first half of 2023, a woman was caught by customs trying to smuggle 14 bottles of Moutai liquor into the country, leading netizens to jokingly call it “Fei Moutai legs.” It has been reported that cases of smuggling Moutai liquor into the country have occurred frequently in recent years.

The 31st “Spring City Overflowing with Chinese Culture and Joyful Spring Festival” cultural, artistic, and tourism exhibition, organized by the Huaxia Cultural Hub, was successfully held on January 31st at School of the Arts Singapore.

The performance featured the Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble, known for its creation of the Han Dynasty musical epic “Han Music Splendor.” Established in 2017, the Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble is the youngest professional orchestra in Jiangsu Province. It is also the first professional music group in Jiangsu Province dedicated to the research, excavation, collection, organization, creation, and performance of Han Dynasty music.

“Han Music Splendor” is a collection of various musical works with distinct personalities and diverse forms. Opening with “Octet Ensemble,” the performance included pieces such as “The Siege of Gaixia” and “Song of the Great Wind.” Through a variety of ancient musical instruments such as the Huqin, Pan Flute, and Tao Flute, significant stories from the Han Dynasty history were integrated into the music.

The Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble, dressed in Han Dynasty costumes and using reconstructed ancient instruments, combined music, dance, and ancient rituals to recreate the musical style of the Han Dynasty.

With their superb performance skills and profound understanding of traditional music, the Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble interpreted each piece of music with vivid imagery and deep artistic conception, allowing the audience to feel as if they were immersed in the ancient Chinese civilization, experiencing the profound musical sentiment of antiquity.

As a Chinese Baijiu company, we deeply understand the importance of cultural exchange. In Singapore, we are not only committed to promoting traditional Chinese culture but also hope to present the most authentic and beautiful Chinese music to the local audience through such musical events. In the future, as the title sponsor, Singapore China Baijiu Pte Ltd will continue to support Huaxia Cultural Hub, contribute to the promotion of cultural exchanges between China and Singapore through various cultural activities, and let more people understand and appreciate Chinese culture.

On January 19th, the 31st Spring in the City : Spring Harmonies-Heaven & Earth opened at the Capitol Theatre, with Mr. Chua Ray Long, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Social and Family Development, serving as the guest of honor. Mr. Yun Weilong, Chairman of Singapore China Baijiu Pte Ltd, was invited to attend and was awarded a certificate of appreciation as the title sponsor.

Before the concert officially began, Ms. Lin Dangli, President of the Huaxia Cultural Hub, presented a New Year’s gift to Mr. Chua Ray Long to celebrate the arrival of the new year. Mr. Yun Weilong enthusiastically engaged in discussions with the distinguished guests present, exchanging insights on promoting cultural integration and the complementary relationship between culture and business development. The white liquor brand booth brought to the scene by Singapore China Baijiu Pte Ltd attracted attention.

This “Spring in the City” concert invited many internationally renowned artists. Mr. Chen Kangming, a renowned conductor in Singapore, served as the orchestra conductor, with Singapore tenor Lee Song En, baritone Wu Han Wei, Malaysian mezzo-soprano Zhang Yinjing who developed in Hong Kong, and Chinese soprano Li Jingjing from the China National Opera House lending their voices. The performance featured both high-quality local symphonic pieces and innovative works that blended Chinese culture with bel canto singing and Western orchestration, presenting a diverse cultural feast.

The opening concert ended with thunderous applause, and the guests took the stage to take photos with the performers, while Mr. Yun Weilong congratulated Ms. Lin Dangli and the actors.

The “Spring in the City” series of events welcomed a new batch of guests the next day, with lively atmospheres in both the afternoon and evening sessions. Mr. Ma Yanqing, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Transport, and Mr. Xiao Jianghua, Director of the China Cultural Center and Director of the China Tourism Office in Singapore, served as the guests of honor respectively.

Singapore China Baijiu Pte Ltd is committed to promoting traditional Chinese culture and has maintained a close and friendly cooperative relationship with the Huaxia Cultural Hub for many years. We are aligned in our efforts to promote cultural dissemination and will continue to resonate with the friendly exchanges between China and Singapore, allowing Chinese national brands to continually shine in the Lion City.

On October 30th, the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Singapore Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce was held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Sentosa. Guests from all over the world gathered together to outline a new blueprint for the global development of Zhejiang businesses and explore new opportunities for communication and cooperation.

The evening banquet welcomed Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance in Singapore. Other important guests included Mr. Zhu Jing, Charge d’Affaires ad interim of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore; His Excellency SURYO PRATOMO, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Singapore; His Excellency Askar Kuttykadam, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Singapore; Mr. Yang Gang, Consul General of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore; Mr. Vincent Jaya Saputra, from the Indonesian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Indonesian Financial Technology Bureau; Mr. Peter Sasi, Economic and Trade Officer of the European Union Delegation to Singapore and Regional Head of Trade at the Embassy of Sweden.

The banquet was addressed by Mr. Khaw Boon Wan, the Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance in Singapore. He expressed Singapore’s welcome to new immigrants, emphasizing that Singapore’s assessment criteria for immigrants are not solely based on education and income but also on their integration into society and their ability to contribute to the community.

During the banquet, the atmosphere was lively, and there were engaging toasts and a rich lottery session. The Singapore Chinese Baijiu Association provided Moutai as a coveted prize for the lottery, generating high expectations from the attendees. Moutai, as a well-known Chinese Baijiu brand, was highly valued.

Over the decades, Zhejiang entrepreneurs both at home and abroad have worked diligently and steadfastly, achieving remarkable success and earning a good reputation worldwide. Guided by the values of mutual cooperation, overseas Zhejiang entrepreneurs, as representatives of the older generation, have bridged communication for the newcomers and joined hands to strive for a brilliant future for Zhejiang entrepreneurs, contributing to the continued legend of Zhejiang business.

Representatives of the Singapore Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce expressed sincere gratitude to the guests, toasting and wishing everyone a wonderful and memorable evening.

The 10th-anniversary celebration of the Singapore Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce showcased collaboration and support among different organizations. The Singapore Chinese Baijiu Association wishes the Singapore Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce continued prosperity in the future, contributing more to the thriving Zhejiang business community in Singapore and achieving greater success!