China’s ‘national team’ ditches Kweichow Moutai in move that adds to valuation woes

Central Huijin Investment and China Securities Finance are not among Kweichow Moutai’s top 10 shareholders as of second quarter

China’s state-backed funds are pulling out of Kweichow Moutai, adding to the woes of the nation’s biggest baijiu liquor maker whose stock has lost more than 40 per cent from its peak five years ago.

By the end of the first quarter, Central Huijin held 10.4 million shares of Kweichow Moutai, making it the fifth largest shareholder, while China Securities Finance was the 10th largest with a holding of 4.03 million, first-quarter results showed.

The two funds did not drop out of the top 10 because of stake increases by other investors, as a holding of 3.5 million shares was enough to rank among the company’s 10 biggest shareholders in the April-to-June period.

Rather, the unwinding underscores how some of the nation’s most influential investors are turning cautious on Kweichow Moutai and the baijiu industry, once considered favourite bets for traders and emblematic of China’s consumer sector.

The sector has been reeling from a years-long downcycle in the post-Covid era, battered by the central government’s anti-corruption campaign, a deteriorating jobs market and the changing consumption habits among younger generations.

Central Huijin and China Securities Finance, a government-owned entity that aids brokerages in margin trading and short selling, are dubbed members of China’s “national team”, a term coined by investors to refer to state buyers who first intervened to stabilise the stock market rout in 2015.